Fate - The Einzbern Grail War
by Dschehuti
Summary: After witnessing the events of the Fifth Grail War and finally realizing the futility of using the tainted Fuyuki Grail, the Einzbern Clan decides to activate a second Greater Grail in the heart of Europe. So begins a most unusual war in which an entirely new cast of seven Masters and seven Servants is plunged into conflict. Will there finally be a winner?
1. Prologue

_So... here we go. I had this idea now for quite a while, pretty much as a tribute to how childishly awesome the core idea of Fate is. The rights to Fate and the Nasuverse belong to Type Moon, I own nothing and just have my fun with the world. All characters are fictional except for those who aren't and all historical events are also fictional except for those which are fictionalized versions of things that really happened (that's my take on the dream-chapters).  
_

 _I hope you have fun!_

* * *

Prologue

The great cavern was scarcely lit by only a handful of torches. Within the darkness stood a tall man, his long silver hair and beard forming an imposing impression together with his stern features. He was watching the ceremony for quite a while by now, studying every chant and every movement critically. If there had been any mistake, he would have stopped it immediately. Despite their strict timetable, he saw no reason to deliver anything short of perfection. For he was Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the two hundred year old patriarch of the Einzbern clan. And here, deep down in the caverns below his family's castle, he was going to retrieve the magic his ancestors once lost. A magic so pure and mysterious that the magi weren't even able to give it a name, only referencing it as Third Magic.

They had tried to do it before. Five times to be exact. Each one was a failure. In a cruel mockery of fate the ritual to summon the wish granting device called Holy Grail never gave the chance for a miracle to only one person, but seven and in this way ensured discord and tragedy to take place. The last battle in Fuyuki, as unexpectedly soon as it came, was nothing Jubstacheit even cared to win. His pawn had somehow managed to summon one of the mightiest heroes in one of the weakest classes, so he had sent her away to Japan without an Einzbern overseer. If she had won, she would have died by becoming the Lesser Grail, never being able to make a wish for him in the first place. But Jubstacheit had never expected that the daughter of the wretched traitor Kiritsugu Emiya was able to survive long enough to do so. And after the Lesser Grail was destroyed again in the fifth war, his expectations were proved correct.

Fuyuki was a failure. So much was clear. Nobody would be able to use it correctly if the participants were too focused on killing each other to actually survive the conflict. As Jubstacheit began to see more clearly every day, the fault was inherent to the system of trusting seven magi to cooperate for a common goal, since that went against every aspect of what it meant to be a magus. It guaranteed a bloodbath. No... working together with the Tohsakas and Makiris was a mistake. A mistake out of necessity since at that time, no Magus in his right mind would have tried to do such a big experiment in the heart of Europe during an open war with the inquisitorial Church. But now in times of an uneasy truce, Jubstacheit and the Einzberns were not forced to evade the Church's eyes by fleeing to Japan. They were now able to use the strong laylines here in Germany without fearing immediate repercussions.

And they had to act quickly. There were forces within the Church and even some within the Mages Association who advocated for a ban on further Grail Wars and a dismantling of the Fuyuki Holy Grail. Jubstacheit had to prove them the usefulness of the ritual in the case of it being properly done. And the only way to ensure success was to trust in nobody else than his own clan and his own creations. There won't be any allies for this ritual, no more invitees from outside. Unfortunately, the Grail system refuses to grant command spells to purebred homunculi and is too unpredictable in its choice to allow a more direct approach by seizing the Masters beforehand and strip them of their rights of participation. But even then... there were other ways to guarantee victory. And the preparations for those were already in place. Everything that was left was the creation of the Greater Grail.

Of course they were not making one from scratch. The original one in Fuyuki needed ten years of preparation while this one only took two. The factor of experience made a lot of difference. Jubstacheit was in possession of Justeaze von Einzbern's notes and therefore able to avoid of a lot of troubles she had in her try and error approach of weaving the correct spells. But he was also able to use this cavern deep down under the Einzbern main castle which was already outfitted with the magic crests needed for the ceremony. It was an early experiment which was stopped before the finale phase in order to avoid the attention of stalking Church executors. Some kind of prototype Grail chamber. But its restoration and expansion went surprisingly smooth, so now all that was left to do was the creation process.

The Grail chamber was nothing more than a spacious cavern of black stone. In addition to the flickering torchlight there were also the luminous magic crests spending a minimum of light. They were carved directly into the rock, spiralling inwards in an endlessly complex pattern. No layer had the same shape and they all glowed in the same deep red of a command spell. These layers were thickest at the centre of the cavern where the foundation stone of the Greater Grail was placed. And above the foundation stone stood Jubstacheit's latest miracle. His best creation. A homunculus so advanced, it was only a small step below the great Justeaze. And just like Justeaze, this one's whole purpose was to get transformed into a link to Akasha herself. Watching her in her beauty of perfect functionality, flawlessly performing the last rites to sacrifice herself, filled Jubstacheit with a great amount of pride. At this moment, days after the beginning of the ritual, she had become nothing more than a catalyst, pulling mana from a radius of kilometres and pouring it into the foundation stone. As a result, the whole cavern was stirring with pure energy. The air itself was vibrating.

 _Finally... it is time._

A shudder went through Jubstacheit when the white figure on top of the black stone collapsed. Of course it was foolish to mistake his reaction to worry since the doll was just fulfilling its purpose. It was something the old man hasn't felt in decades. It was excitement. He watched how the human shell of the homunculus shattered and dispersed, setting free a deep red ball of glowing prana. It hovered above the foundation stone, emitting waves of energy which filled the cavern with an ominous atmosphere. Then seven white figures stepped out of the shadows into the flickering light of the torches. More homunculi. They surrounded the recently born Greater Grail and were engulfed in a shimmering blue light. Soon thereafter, they were also stripped of their mortal shells and seven beams of light shot into the red centre of the cavern. As a reaction, a blindingly bright beam flashed out of the Grail and swept away the darkness. Jubstacheit resisted the urge to close his eyes, so he could follow the direction of the beam closely. At first it hit the ground and lit up the foundation stone. The magic crests carved into the rock were screeching and shined so bright he feared they could overcharge and explode. But then the blue beam stopped and vanished, leaving the pulsating eye of the functioning Greater Grail in the shadows again.

 _It is done. The connection to Akasha and the Throne of Heroes._

As if to celebrate its triumph, a second beam of light lit up the cavern. This time, the stream was directed at the ceiling of it. Jubstacheit knew it established a connection to the layline system and with this managed to absorb the left-over energy from the last Grail War. In addition to the energy this prototype chamber generated over the last centuries, it would have been sufficient to immediately prompt the activation sequence of the Heaven's Feel ceremony without the usual decades of delay.

 _It is perfect._

Jubstacheit nodded proudly to himself when the light subsided and he was able to feel the Greater Grail brimming with power. It was done. He managed to succeed in a second miracle all by himself. Proving it to be possible without the help of the Tohsakas and Makiris. Now the only thing left to do was to ensure his victory. After the burning red core of the Grail cooled up and slowly turned to a shade of black, the old magus knew that all preparations were done. He didn't intend to waste more time and left the cavern in a rush. His hand was itching.

Only a few minutes later, Jubstacheit stood surrounded by servants and family members alike in the great hall of Einzbern castle.

"The ceremony was a success", he declared as if it was a matter of fact. "Is the catalyst prepared?"

One of his worthless descendants, a young man with dark hair and an excited grin on his face, stepped forward.

"It is, grandfather. And so is the magic circle. All what is left to do is to decide who shall be our champion."

Jubstacheit lifted an eyebrow. There was something in the voice of the young boy that irritated him. And in his eyes. There was this unmistakable hint of greed hidden under his false enthusiasm. Did he really expected to be chosen himself?

"If I had deemed any of you worthy of succeeding in what failed five times, I would have announced the name of this person soon enough. It should have been clear to all of you, that there is only one person I trust enough to bring victory to our house."

With these words, he strode out of the circle and made a point by going straight to the chapel without turning back. He was sure that there were more than a few startled faces staring at his back, but his announcement was clear enough and didn't need any further explanation. Arriving at the church, he locked the door and studied the altar. The magic circle made of silver was as perfect as it used to be, even with the additions which were made to ensure the summoning of the Servant Class he had in mind. The relic looked as it had seen better times, but it would suffice. For an ordinary eye it was nothing more than splintered and rotten wood. An extraordinarily keen eye would have seen the numerous parallel cuts in the wood which were the result of heavy usage even before the device lost its owner and got forgotten by history. But only the eye of a magus like the one of Jubstacheit was able to feel the touch of the powerful being that still echoed through the fabric of the tool. There was no doubt in it being the perfect catalyst for this certain someone.

Jubstacheit von Einzbern placed himself at the opposite end of the magical circle and raised his right hand. The red magic runes engraved on them shimmered with power. There was no mistake in that the new Grail had recognized his desire to finally end these wars with a victory the moment it was created since he was blessed with the command seals the very second after the ceremony was finished.

"Nehme auf, nehme auf, nehme auf, nehme auf, nehme auf. Wiederhole dies fünf Mal, aber wenn ein jedes aufgeladen ist, zerstöre es", he began the incantation.

Each word was accompanied by a burst of magical energy emitted by his hand. Each of those helped activating the magical circle until the silver construction glowed brightly.

"Erhöre meine Worte. Mein Wille erschafft deinen Körper und dein Zepter erschafft meine Bestimmung. Wenn du dem Ruf des Grals folgst und meinem Willen gehorchst, dann antworte mir!

„Hiermit schwöre ich, dass ich alles Gute in der Welt vertreten werde. Und dass ich alles Schlechte in der Welt besiegen werde. Ihr sieben Himmel, gehüllt in den drei mächtigen Worten der Macht: Kommt hervor in diesem Zirkel, der euch bindet!"

A blinding light filled the chapel and even before it subsided, Jubstacheit knew his Servant heeded his call. Victory was at hand. This time for sure.

* * *

 _And this was the first step in our little adventure. If you find any grave mistakes, please feel free to point them out. This is my first story that is not a translation but written directly in English. Which is kind of ironic since it is my first story actually taking place in Germany..._

 _How did you like it? And are there any mad speculations who exactly the Servant summoned by Jubstacheit could be? I would like to hear them!_


	2. Chapter 1 - Kai

First of all, I am usually horrible at writing anything slice-of-life-related. So it was much of a surprise to me just how smoothly this chapter went. I'm also quite surprised how freakishly long it became. But relax, of course it'll end with the introduction of our first Servant.

* * *

Chapter 1 - Kai

 _Oh, please just shut up..._

Kai was definitely not a morning person. Even if it was only a minute at most until he managed to push the button on the ringing alarm clock, he would have rather stuffed his head into his pillow and pretended not to hear it. But alas, he was in no position to fight against fate. It was Monday. A school day. So he threw his head up into the air, put his feet out of the bed into his slippers and went on towards the bathroom. It was only after the hot shower washed away his grogginess that he was able to realize that something was horribly wrong. While standing under the rush of water, he finally saw some red markings on the back of his right hand. At first he thought them to be pressure marks of his hand resting on a crease in his bed sheet. But for those, this would be a ridiculously severe case. They were deep red.

When he was drying himself, he saw that that these markings, which had a form vaguely resembling a palm tree with three leaves, were much too precise to be the result of just some crazy creases. Kai shuddered, when he touched and felt the markings.

 _Oh god, those are deep._

It was as if someone had carved this crazy stuff into his hand while he was asleep. Which was absolutely ridiculous, he knew, but there had to be a rational explanation for this.

 _Some freak allergic reaction or something. An ugly rash, that's it. It must be... whoa, this looks horrible._

He sincerely hoped it would go away soon and that there wouldn't be any scars left. The boy had no intention of getting reminded of such a stupid mark for the rest of his life whenever he had to look at his hand. But he also knew he had nothing to gain from just worrying about it. Kai had to somehow survive the day without always getting it pointed out by people. He just hoped at least the deep red colour would fade away soon. With this thought he put on his clothes, simple jeans and a T-shirt and went downstairs where his parents were already seated for breakfast.

"Always in a hurry...", he mused, having slightly calmed down from his initial panic.

They both were halfway finished with eating as he joined them by taking a cold slice of toast from the basket. He made a point of it by using his left hand, keeping his right hand under the table. The TV was running with a regional news channel reporting about some car accident on the motorway near Einzbern.

"And you are always late", his father replied dryly.

"Always a matter of perspective. I get the feeling you guys get out earlier every morning. I came straight from the bathroom and you are already halfway through the door", Kai complained.

"That's a working life, boy. You will wish your current school life back sooner than later, you'll see", the man answered.

Kai nodded, feigning true understanding. Both his parents had quite a lot of work, having executive jobs somewhere in the city next to Einzbern. The boy was used to both of them staying away for quite a lot of time, leaving him to fend for himself. But he didn't mind all that much. He knew they loved him and he knew he was able to rely on them if it was really important. And since they were usually quite laid back, he was the last one to complain. Kai was sure that even real parents wouldn't have been cooler. Ah, yes, this was something they had clearly laid out since he was very little. He was adopted. It made no difference most of the time, but since he never knew his true parents and the orphanage he came from had basically no information of them whatsoever, he often wondered who they were. They died in some tragic accident, a fire in their house or something, with baby Kai as the only survivor, but even then, there was surprisingly little information to be found about where his original parents came from and whether he still had living relatives.

"Hey, what's this?", his mother asked, pointing at the right hand he foolishly used to spread the butter on his toast.

"Uh, nothing", Kai replied sheepishly, pulling his hand back, but it was too late.

She grabbed him at his wrist and studied the blood red mark with a frown.

"Is this a tattoo?", she asked, aghast.

"Of course not, did you see me with it yesterday?", he defended himself irritated about the accusative tone in her voice.

"Not that I know of, but you must have got that somewhere. Is this branded? Oh god, it's one of those modern branded tattoos? Did you join a gang or something?"

"You should know best that I'm too boring to join a gang. And I'm not a fan of any kind of irreversible bodypaint either. So please calm down. It's some kind of freak rash or something. I don't really know. It was just there when I woke up."

She nodded begrudgingly and opened the grip on his hand which he thankfully put back on his lap.

"You don't know?", she said unbelieving. "Did you eat something strange or anything?"

"Not that I know of. It's only my hand. And while it looks terribly huge, for some reason it doesn't even hurt or itches. It's just there."

"It maybe is one of these supernatural stigmata some people get", his father laughed. "You know, people who claim that the wounds Jesus sustained at the cross somehow showed up at their wrists."

"As far as I know I wasn't crucified last night", Kai rolled with his eyes. "My left hand is also perfectly fine."

"Sure, but you shouldn't take it lightly. Please go see a dermatologist after school", by now her worries were more visible than her anger.

"Of course I'll go. I have a bad feeling that'll cost me half the day but I want to get rid of it as soon as possible."

"If you don't want to go to the city, there should have opened a new doctor's office down at Löwenplatz", his father interjected. "It's near a bus station of the line that passes your school. Just a bit further down the road from there."

Kai's mother made an amused face.

"Where do you hear about dermatologists?"

"Well, there was this one co-worker with his nasty athlete's foot he always complained about. You want the specifics?"

She looked at her breakfast and shook her head.

"No thanks. Anyway, Kai...", she focused on her son again. "Take the roll of bandages from under the kitchen sink, I'll bandage your hand for school and pray you aren't contagious. I guess we can't do much more for now."

"Good idea and... thanks", Kai knew he had to change the topic before the silence would kick in. "So... for when shall I await you today?"

"Well, I'll going to have a meeting at 9 o'clock, so don't await me before 10", his father said.

"And we have a tough schedule with this recent building project for Munich, so... don't know. Just don't wait for us with dinner", his mother replied.

"Alright then..."

Soon thereafter his parents went on and Kai himself took his schoolbag and left for the bus stop. Living in Einzbern was actually pretty nice. They had a small house with two floors, a basement and a garden which kept them busy on weekends. A small middle class paradise his parents had created out here, even if they had to drive a lot to reach their respective workplaces. Einzbern itself was located at the foot of the Alps and was a town. It had 40.000 inhabitants which wasn't what you call small, but it was by all means not a city yet. Einzbern was one of those places which grow in their width, but not in their height. There are a few industrial parks, green spots for recreation and an awful lot of apartments. But no Skyscrapers or anything that would make Einzbern some kind of business centre. The next big city where his parents went was built for that. The only remarkable aspect of Einzbern was the old castle up at a hill hovering over the town. Kai had heard in primary school that these von Einzberns who owned the castle were once the landowners of the whole region. But nobody had seen one of them in ages. They most likely just moved away when nobody was looking, leaving the castle to rot and decay. It was the most reasonable theory since nobody in his right mind would want to pay the upkeep of such a large caste nowadays. But Kai's favourite explanation was that the Einzberns were some clan of vampires and they only came out at night to prey on their poor subjects. He doesn't really remember who had that notion, but he liked it the moment he heard it.

"Hey Kai!", one of his classmates waiting at the bus stop was waving at him. "And what's up with the hand?"

 _Oh great, now I'll have to explain it to each and everyone..._

"Ah, nothing", he replied, making a face. "I had just cut myself. The bandage looks worse than it actually is."

"You know we'll have an algebra test. I hope you can still write", he said.

"I think there'll be no problem."

A few hours later Kai was surprised how little the people noticed. After he had explained his wrecked hand to the first few people the rest of his class decided to not even mention it. And he was glad for at least that. He had to sit through 8 periods and whoever got the brilliant idea to give someone in the twelfth year of school that many on a Monday had to burn in hell for this. At least this was what Kai liked to imagine. After his sixth period there was lunchtime, so he went to the cafeteria to get the daily meal.

 _What the..._

It was not the indefinable paste of potato-something as the daily menu what caused him to freeze in between the thickly arranged tables full of chatting students. When Kai approached the queue in front of the cash desk, he saw a girl from the year below him. He didn't knew her, not even her name, but of course he had seen her quite often walking through the corridors of school. It's not that he cared that much for her, but for what was on the back of the hand she used to hold her tablet with. Red markings eerily similar to his own, even if those had more the shape of a sword.

 _Is it already spreading at school?_

He loitered a bit at the other end of the queue and waited for her to finish checking out with her plate filled with aforementioned indefinable potato-something. Trying not to look too suspicious, Kai tried to approach her as casual as humanly possible.

"Hi. Anything happened to that hand of yours?"

At least she stopped in front of him, but she eyed him warily from head to toe.

"Why should you care?", the brunette girl snapped.

"I just... well...", not knowing how else to answer, he stripped the bandage off his hand and just showed her.

She froze in obvious shock.

"So bad, eh?", Kai murmured.

"Y... You can't mean to... I mean...", she stuttered, obviously at a loss for words. "It is not the right place, don't you think?"

"So you know where this comes from?", he asked back.

"Of course I do. And yeah, I know what this means", she answered evasively.

"Then let's talk about it."

"Wow, you really mean it. Fine, but we need to find a place without so many people around."

 _She speaks as if it were the bloody pox. Just spit it out already..._

"How long do you stay at school today?", she asked suddenly.

"I still have two periods to attend to. Yeah, I know, my timetable suc-"

"Fine", she interrupted. "We'll meet in the small forest behind the Tartan track after school. Try not to make too much of a fuzz of it, please."

She then turned and left in quite a hurry.

"Wow, and I thought I reacted badly to it", Kai muttered under his breath.

The remaining two hours, even including the dreaded test in maths, went surprisingly smooth. When Kai left for the Tartan track, the hot summer afternoon sun shined relentlessly onto his back. The shadow of the oak trees was a nice change when he arrived at the point he suspected to be their meeting point. The whole area was deserted and since there was nothing more than an unused acre behind the school, nobody else was likely to show up.

"Hey, are you here?", he yelled.

 _Sure you are here. That's probably just some bad prank... or she just wanted to get rid of me back in the cafeteria. Sure Kai, brilliant move. Meeting up with some girl to discuss the strange stigmata on your hand. In a forest behind the school._

"So you finally came", the girl spoke up with ice in her voice.

"Well yeah. To be honest, I was not entirely sure you would show up", Kai admitted.

"I gave you my word. I think it wouldn't be honourable to deny a battle after you approached me so directly."

"What?", he replied flatly.

The girl seemed startled. She squinted to her side even if there was nothing but the empty clearing to see.

"What do you mean, there is nobody else?", she whispered.

Kai looked around with a frown, wondering who the hell she was talking to.

"Yeah, I guess, you are right... But I'll ask him anyway", she faced him again, scowling. "You! Just tell me that you know what Servants are."

"You mean like butlers? I... I don't think I went here to go through your English vocabulary with you."

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh for god's sake, what do you think you came for?"

"Well this!", Kai held up his bandaged arm, not bothering to open it again after his reattaching of the bandage became a shabby work the last time. "You said you can tell me where this came from."

"How should I know?", she snapped.

"Do you at least know how I get rid of this rash?"

"No idea", she shrugged. "Maybe it goes away by itself. Maybe not. Wait... you came here thinking I wanted to talk with you about a rash? Seriously?"

"Well... yeah...", Kai admitted sheepishly.

"How stupid are you?"

"I know very well how stupid this sounds... but what did you think you invited me for?"

She opened her mouth and closed it again, obviously struggling for words.

"Well nothing that has to do with you anyway. Sorry for bothering you", she shook her head a last time before leaving the forest.

Kai watched her leaving, deciding it for the better to pretend this meeting never happened.

 _She must be crazy. That's it... Talking with herself and everything... well I guess I can be grateful she didn't use the opportunity to slit my throat..._

He didn't want to waste any more time, especially with the prospect of spending the rest of the day in a sticky waiting room full of sick people. So he went straight to the bus stop and went for the Löwenplatz immediately. It was at the very end of the bus line at the edge of Einzbern, much to Kai's surprise.

 _Well, I guess dad's co-worker used a car to get here after all_ , he thought while staring out of the bus window.

Much to his surprise, the Löwenplatz was placed in the middle of an abandoned industrial complex. There were two roads leading away from the square itself, so Kai cursed his horrible luck when it came to guessing the right track as well as the fact that he didn't spend at least a few minutes this morning searching for the correct address in the internet.

 _I'll just walk a hundred metres for each road and then turn around. I can't believe dad would send me out here. There must have been some kind of mistake. He remembered the wrong street, that's it._

The first road was pretty much abandoned. After passing a once proud factory complex that was now missing critical parts of its roof and which was surrounded by a wall so thickly covered in graffiti he honestly wondered about just how many layers of paint those bricks were really covered in, he quickly lost all interest in further search for the office his father mentioned. But before he could follow his urge to turn around, the air was suddenly filled with numerous mechanical roars which came from behind. Kai looked over his shoulder and saw roughly two dozen motorcycles cruising along the empty road in a huge bulk. The drivers were all surprisingly young people in leather jackets with clearly visible purple insignias. Kai remembered that there was a small number of biker clubs located in Einzbern. He usually wouldn't pay them much mind, but several of those people were yelling around and doing tricks within the formation. He perceived a certain aggressiveness in this particular group and that made him uneasy. So he finally turned around and tried to pass them with fast steps. A few of them looked at him curiously, but made no intention of bothering him. All except one. One of them, a slender woman with a purple Mohican and arms covered in tattoos, stopped and gave him a smile.

"You lost, boy?", she called out.

"Uh... not really. But thanks for asking", he replied and was sure that he must have looked visibly startled.

 _I guess you really shouldn't judge after appearances, eh?_

"What is it? You know this worm?", a second voice called out, this time from a raspy sounding man.

Kai couldn't help but glancing over his shoulder, watching how one of the bikers broke formation and turned his bike around, moving onto the sidewalk he was currently using.

"Don't be an ass, Nick. I just wanted to be nice", the first woman answered, scowling.

"Ah you wanted to be nice. Sure you are. Got a new friend or what?"

Kai gulped and stepped to the side before the guy drove him down. The next thing he new, he was driving directly beside him, a big smile on his face. 'Nick' was a large and muscular specimen, having the same purple insignia on the back of his jacket as everyone else. He was also one of the unruly fellows who intimidated Kai in the first place.

"You must feel lucky with my girlfriend having set her eyes on you", he mused.

"Oh Nick, just leave it!", said girlfriend yelled with an annoyed tone in her voice.

 _Yeah, do what she said, leave it!_

Kai glanced to his side and saw much to his dismay that in his attempt to evade the guy who came continuously closer, he got pretty much squeezed between the motorcycle to his left and the solid brick wall to his right.

"Come on, boy", Nick pushed his shoulder hard, resulting in Kai's other shoulder scraping against the wall. "You shouldn't ignore elders who are talking to you."

"Just leave him be!", the woman said again.

"What? I'm just trying to be nice myself", he countered and Kai saw him looking away at his girlfriend.

It was pretty much the best chance he got. Kai pushed himself forward and started to run. His best bet was that he just went his way if Kai managed to reach the Löwenplatz where hopefully other people were around.

"Hey! Stay here, you bloody bastard!", Nick yelled behind his back and his motorcycle was howling when he accelerated.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. What the heck is going on?_

He ran as fast as he could, his heart was racing, but there was no way he could outsprint a motorcycle. So when he reached the entrance of the abandoned factory, he used the opportunity and jumped into the yard, barely escaping the racing machine who passed the gate behind him. Still struggling with the weight of his school bag, he came to his feet immediately and realized the idiotic situation he found himself in. Kai ran into the direction of the factory buildings, but as far as he was able to see, the front gate was the only way to pass the walls. He was trapped. He continued to run, hoping for some kind of cover to somehow show up, even if he knew it to be futile. His vision must have been blurry, but while he ran, he could have sworn that the bandage on his right hand was shimmering red.

 _Bloody hell..._

When he glanced at his back, he saw four motorcycles passing the gate, rapidly closing the distance to him. One was this Nick guy, this time with three friends. His girlfriend who happened to accidentally cause Kai becoming his new chew toy, was nowhere to be seen. Instead he saw that one of those guys somewhere managed to arm himself with a baseball bat. He saw that as soon as they managed to cut off his escape route and began to encircle him, all of them favouring Kai with vicious smiles.

 _Who the hell are those guys?_

"You must think yourself very clever, don't you?", Nick asked when he passed in front of Kai's face.

"What the hell do you want?", Kai asked right back as soon as he was able to defeat the knot in his throat.

"Oh, I was just politely wondering what's going on between you and my girlfriend. You were making yourself suspicious by running away."

"Come on, I was just passing by. I have nothing to do with you guys."

Kai was only talking by instinct. His mind was still trying to wrap itself around the question how the hell he got into such a situation in the first place.

"Too bad, I-"

"You heard his version, now leave him be!"

The booming voice cut effortlessly through the roaring of their engines. It was commanding enough to let Nick stop his motorcycle and look around after the source of it. His companions did likewise, so Kai ruled out the possibility that the boss of their gang stepped in to stop this madness. They didn't know the voice's owner. And Kai was the first who saw it. There was a figure in the first floor of the factory next to them, watching the scene through a collapsed wall.

"Mind your own business!", Nick snapped.

"It is the business of the king", the man with the booming voice replied flatly.

It was a crazed madman. Kai knew it the moment the man simply jumped down and landed in front of the bikers, seemingly shrugging off the pain in his legs he surely had to suffer for the stunt. And then there was his outfit... The tanned middle aged man with a sharp chin and a beaked nose was dressed like a pharaoh of Old Egypt. He had a white skirt covered with richly adorned iron plates which were connected to an elaborate golden belt. But his armor was the most impressive part. It consisted of a ridiculously complex pattern of entangled metal rings, dwarfed by two massive parts in the shape of turquoise wings, which covered most of his upper body. His arms and legs were bare save for a few golden bracelets which shared a pattern with his belt. To top it all off, he wore a giant blue helmet with a golden snake motif in its front. The very picture Kai had of a pharaoh from top to toe.

"You sure you want to meddle in our affairs, freak?", Nick asked amused. "I don't want to ruin you precious carnival costume."

"The king has no intention of starting a conflict. But the king will have to punish you if you continue to harass this boy", the stranger said with a tone Kai thought sounded _bored_.

"Well now you have it, freak. You do make yourself haughty and all, but we'll see how brave you sound after we're done with you!", Nick threatened, starting the engine of his motorcycle again.

The reaction of the stranger was as insane as the whole situation: He smiled.

"The king fought the battle hardened sea pirates of the Mediterranean when he was sixteen and emerged victorious. The king heard the great plains of Syria trembling under the hooves and wheels of the largest chariot army the world has ever seen and didn't even flinch. The king personally cut down hundreds of foes after being severely wounded, ignoring the pain through sheer willpower and his trust in divine protection. So the king asks you now: Who are you to dare challenge the king?"

The Nick guy dared to laugh when he charged the stranger with his motorcycle. He obviously never intended to step down and fight on equal grounds, he just wanted to make Kai's unexpected helper run by threatening to drive him down.

"We are the Vipers, freak!", he yelled.

As promised, the stranger didn't even flinch. He just stood there, awaiting the thug with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Sure you are", he murmured softly, but his deep voice was still clearly to hear for Kai.

It all happened in the flash of a second. The very moment before the wheel of the motorcycle touched the legs of the stranger, he stepped aside in a single, insanely fast motion. In the same instance, he punched with his left hand into the chest of the charging rider, who immediately let go of his bike in shock. The next Kai saw was this Nick guy tumbling to the ground, gasping for air, while his bike crashed into the yard.

"Bastard!", the thug with the baseball bat yelled and charged as well from the other side.

This time the stranger didn't even bother to knock him out. He evaded the swing by knocking the bat out of the bikers hand, catching it in the same motion. The biker turned around with a confused look on his face, seemingly not knowing what to do next. The other two still stood near Kai, watching the surreal scene with wide eyes.

"This club doesn't seem as if it was created as a weapon of war", the stranger said, eying the bat with a frown. "So you shouldn't use it as such."

The costumed guy then grabbed the baseball bat with both his hands and broke it in one swift motion. He made it look like as if it was as easy as breaking a twig.

 _The guy must be freakishly strong._

Nick must have realized as well. He struggled to his feet and hastily picked up his bike.

"Come on, guys. This freak isn't worth to bother", he yelled, barely suppressing his confusion about the situation.

They then escaped through the main gate, even the two guys who didn't get a beating. Only Kai and his unexpected saviour remained.

"Ah... uh... thank you, I guess", Kai said, still a bit baffled.

"You shouldn't rest here. The danger is not yet averted. You are still watched", he announced while gazing at the building he came from. "The enemy doesn't strike the king as if he was brave enough to face someone in public, so you should find sanctuary in the civilian crowd."

"Huh... I wouldn't have put it this way, but I guess you are right."

 _He seems to like the act he put on. He might be a loony, but probably more of the harmless sort._

They slowly walked towards the main entrance. When they left the yard, the bulk of motorcycles was already retreating into the direction they wanted to drive to in the first place.

"So you try to pull off such a superhero thing or what?", Kai said amused.

"Superhero?", he replied with a frown, seemingly thinking about the meaning of those words. "Mmh... it might be an adequate description for the current state of the king's spirit."

"And your alias is 'the king'?", Kai continued his guesswork. "With this whole pharaoh shtick, you're supposed to be King Tut or what?"

 _Better than Elvis, I guess._

The stranger was visibly confused by the notion.

"The boy king was no true predecessor of this particular king. While the king does not bear him ill will for the deeds of his father, the king has no intention of mimicking one who has achieved so little", he sounded somewhat hurt about the comparison.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't intend to hurt your pride", Kai said sheepishly. "Well then... I think I can go on by my own now. Thank you for saving me again. It... it wasn't my day I guess."

"A wise course of action", the stranger said. "The king will buy you time for your escape while you seek shelter."

"Don't make it sound so melodramatic, the bus stop is right over there..."

Kai pointed at the direction of Löwenplatz and while he did it, he was hit by a strong gust of wind from his right side, the side the stranger was walking besides him. When he turned back to face him, he was gone. Startled, Kai whirled around and looked at the whole street. There was no sign of him anywhere. For a second Kai doubted he was ever there to begin with.

"Wow... now I'm really impressed", he commented to himself. "The guy already leaves like Batman..."

 _Let's just hope I won't hear any time soon of a dressed up lunatic getting arrested for vigilantism._

With these thoughts, he went on his way and only then realized the bus entering Löwenplatz. Freaked out about the prospect of spending twenty more minutes at this godforsaken place, he ran as fast as he could, calling out to it at the same time. He barely managed to catch it, but at the end, catching it was all he wanted. Without bothering for further trips, he went straight home and was relieved to have a locked door between himself and the crazy world outside.

 _This must have been the weirdest day in my life..._ , he thought after he threw himself onto the sofa. _This crazy stigmata seems to attract weirdoes wherever I go._

He removed the bandage pondering about why the red marks haven't lost one bit of colour during the day. He realized it won't disappear without help, but he was certain he would get a doctor in the city and while at it he was going to call his father out on sending him into such a dangerous part of town. And as if he was tempting fate by even looking at the crazy marks, someone knocked at the door in this instant. He knew he wasn't going to like it, but he went to the door regardless.

 _Oh god, no..._ , he thought shocked, when he opened it.

It was King Tut again.

"Why did you follow me home?", he yelled inadvertently. "I'm thankful for the rescue, but now you look like some kind of creep!"

"It is most unwise to leave the king's side for long periods of time", he boomed back with a frown. "Think about the battles to come."

Kai slammed the door shut.

 _I have to check the windows, before he-_

Then King Tut moved through the door. He didn't open it, he didn't smashed it, he just stepped through it as if it wasn't there.

"What the..."

"You dare denying entrance to a king?", he asked, his frown having become even deeper.

Only then Kai realized that the guy had deep red eyes.

"How did you... you just moved through the door!"

"The king is the spirit you summoned. The king heeded your call. There are no physical barriers which can keep a Heroic Spirit at bay."

"Spirit? Y... you're a ghost?"

"You still seem unbelieving. Regarding your behaviour the king starts to suspect that you were dragged into this Grail War without proper preparations. In this case the king apologizes for not having been clear enough about his purpose during our first meeting today."

 _Madness... this must be some kind of dream or something... nobody can just phase through a solid door like he did... but... but... damn, him being a ghost makes as much sense as anything._

"So you say you are the ghost of a pharaoh of old who somehow stumbled into my house?", he asked, still baffled.

"As the king said, he was summoned by you."

"How that?"

"You made a pact. The command spells on your right hand are prove enough that you were chosen as a worthy Master. In this position, the king heard your call and answered."

Kai looked at his hand.

 _So this is what it is..._

"I didn't call anyone, it makes no sense!"

"You did. You activated the magic circle inside the building the king had found himself in."

"The abandoned factory?"

"Correct."

The pharaoh sighed, but even if the situation seemed as confusing to him as it was to Kai a minute ago, he now looked somewhat relieved. Kai assumed he was glad to have made himself as clear as he possibly got with him.

"You are no trained sorcerer", he said more to himself than to Kai. "The connection to the king is established, but the supply of prana is pitiful. The king knows he should be worried by the disadvantage, but he somehow isn't. The king will tell you all about the purpose of his fight that now became yours. And he will achieve victory so he and you will be able to fulfil the wishes they are craving for."

"I still don't get it..."

"You will", he promised solemnly.

An uneasy silence began to spread out between the two of them. Kai knew he had to somehow wrap his head around the fact that he had a ghost standing in front of him. One who was hell-bent on following him everywhere.

"So you lived and died a past life?", he heard himself asking.

All things considered, it was a huge opportunity to learn something about the distant past. And knowledge was something he was always eager to achieve.

"The king did. It was long and it was glorious. The king brought peace and prosperity to his subjects and death to his enemies. The harvests were plentiful and the monuments of his power withstood time and nature to make his name immortal", the pharaoh told him with a smug expression.

"Who are you?"

"The class you summoned the king into is the one of Archer. For the time being, you should address the king as such. It minimizes the danger of giving our enemies an advantage by giving them the king's true name", the ghost explained, but his voice sounded pained.

For the first time since the beginning of their discussion, Kai had to smile.

"You want to tell me your name as much as I want to hear it. Don't deny it, I can see it. And I'm not an idiot. I won't tell anyone. You will be Archer, okay? I am Kai. Kai Reymeyer. I once had a different surname, but since I don't know it myself, I am unable to tell you. You can just refer to me as Kai. But now, Archer, tell me who you are, please."

"As you wish", the pharaoh made a small, but dignified bow. "The king was known as Kanakht merymaat, as Mekkemetwafkhasut and also as Userrenput-aanehktu. The majority of his subjects knew him as Usermaatre-setepenre. As did the Greek foreigners, who referred to the king as Ozymandias. But the name given to the king at birth and seemingly best known to the current world is Ramesses Meryamun, the second of his name. So is the name of the hero you summoned, Master Kai."

 _Ramesses..._ , Kai realized aghast. _If he tells the truth, I'm speaking to freaking Ramesses the Great..._

* * *

Here we are. I hope you all made it so far. We got our first Servant in the race and he could be one hell of a beast... if he had been summoned by a proper Master. Yes, I went with the cliché of the "Ordinary High-school Student" with Kai even if I myself prefer Fate/Zero to Fate/Stay Night. For one thing, it's my first character of this kind, so it is more an experiment than a cliché from my perspective. For the other thing... it is quite a logical choice for at least one of the main characters considering how exactly Jubstacheit recruits the other masters. And... of course it makes sense considering I thought this up while watching DEEN's first adaptation and thinking about how much more awesome the premise of Stay Night could be if it wouldn't be so dependant on its protagonist's stupidity.


	3. Chapter 2 - Simon

Welcome all to our third participant in this Grail War. And the first little skirmish in it...

* * *

Chapter 2 - Simon

"Blood and immune systems, eh?", Alexandra asked curiously.

"Having learned so much for organs and tissue, it will be a tough call", Simon explained.

"If you say tough call, this means you get an A-grade regardless", Tobias rolled his eyes.

Hendrik said nothing, just watching the three of them while eating his breakfast.

The four university students were sitting together at the dinner table, planning the day. Simon, being in the second semester of his medical studies, was still worrying about the exam he was going to have this day. It was a pretty illustrious group. Except for them all attending the university in the city next to Einzbern, they had completely different subjects. Tobias was studying business administration, Alexandra computer science and Hendrik maths and physics to become a teacher.

"So what are you up to?", Simon asked back.

"I'm afraid, I won't even leave the house. I have an exam in electrical engineering tomorrow and still have to create the allowed cheat sheet", Alexandra explained.

"How can a cheat sheet be allowed?", Tobias interjected.

"They allow a single sheet of paper with formulas during some exams", Hendrik said. "You can imagine that the questions will be appropriately difficult if they don't have to worry about the students learning from memory."

Tobias' brow formed a deep frown. Simon had to share this sentiment and assumed exams like this only appeared in very particular natural science courses. Up to this point his own studies consisted nearly entirely of memorizing things...

"And what are your plans, Hendrik?"

"I got most of my exams last week, but there are still two left. I guess I won't do much more than preparations as well."

"Tobias?"

"Ah... uh... well, guess I try my luck at the statistics exam. Everything else actually went quite well."

"You mean on the second try?", Alexandra scowled.

Hendrik chuckled, earning him a dark glare from Tobias.

"Whatever", Tobias then announced. "I've heard the philological institute does throw some kind of semester ending party today evening."

"We all got the mail", Hendrik replied.

"Yeah sure... but what do you say, anyone else interested in going there?"

Alexandra shook her head: "Maybe if the people organizing it wouldn't have already proven to have a terrible taste the year before. Schlager-music, really?"

"Maybe they learned from their past mistakes... Simon? What's with you?"

"Nah...", he groaned, unsure.

"Come on, you cannot hole yourself up the whole day. You must live for once!"

"Probably... but I think my life is fine as it is."

"Only because those two here are not any better, it doesn't mean you can't use your free time more actively."

Alexandra and Hendrik exchanged annoyed glances.

"Just jump over your own shadow, it'll be fun! And with staying at the city, you won't disturb our two moles back here", Tobias continued to urge on.

"Shut it...", Alexandra growled.

"Fine... I'll give it a try, only so that you don't have to go on pestering us. But if I get bored to death, it'll be your fault."

"Alright! They start the party at their campus at six o'clock."

"Who starts a party at six o'clock?", Alexandra immediately whispered to Hendrik, rolling her eyes, but Tobias tried to ignore them.

So it was decided for Simon. His exam was going to end at five o'clock, so he had to somehow spend the meantime in the city since it wasn't enough time to drive back home. After Tobias said his goodbyes and left the apartment, Simon tried to do the same as his other two roommates and took his scribbles from the lectures in order to read the last few points he was unsure about. He tried not to cause himself panic, just relaxed and read until he had to go catch the train to the city.

When the time came, Alexandra and Hendrik wished him luck as he took his bag and made his exit. Living in Einzbern was a nice compromise for him. He was able to reach the university in a little more than an hour, but had not to pay the insane rents they took in the city. As an added side effect, despite Einzbern being not a very rich town and several of the old business districts being in a threatening state of neglect, it was pretty green and the air was better. Between the apartment complex their rented apartment was located and the S-Bahn-station there was a long stretch of public space reserved for a little park. He always used it as a shortcut, passing joggers, people walking their dogs and people just relaxing on the grass. The rest of his trip was as uneventful as expected. He took the train to the city, from there the bus and arrived at the medical campus. Only few other students were in the destined lecture hall because he was quite early, but he always liked to have enough time just in case anything went wrong with the public transport. So he spend the gap chatting with some of the students he knew and waited for the exam to begin. Finally, after he saw the dreading paper in front of him and the student assistants announced the beginning of the test, he was able to browse through the questions and saw it was exactly what he had expected. He sighed out in relieve. No unfair surprises. It were just the things he expected. Smiling to himself, he began to write...

 _Why is it so cold in here?_

He rubbed his hands half an hour into the exam. They were freezing cold and he was only a small step away from openly shivering. He looked at the students around him, searching for any sign that they felt the same, but to no avail. Ten minutes later, he was sweating.

 _Oh come on. What are you doing to me, body? I'm the calmness itself, so why are you trying to make me look like if I'm under severe stress?_

As if it wanted to answer him, he felt a sudden pain in his right hand, rapidly stretching out. It felt like he was holding it into hot flames.

"Uh...", Simon gasped softly.

Red drops of blood dripped on the exam papers. Confused he longed for the packet of paper tissues he had placed on his desk in his wise foresight. It wasn't much blood he had to rub from the back of his hand but the sudden bleeding was startling enough to him. And when he removed the soaked paper tissue, the form of the wound made him blink in confusion. It was a surprisingly elaborate shape of two rings surrounding a small cross. They were deep red and looked like carved into his flesh.

 _What the heck?_

He gulped, not knowing what to do. Looking back at his papers he realized there was nothing much to do. Simon continued the exam, trying to do as if nothing happened. He had to look at the strange marks all the time, but much to his surprise the wound didn't even hurt, so after a while it stopped bothering him. The student assistant who collected the papers glanced at his blood soaked paper tissue, but otherwise there was no further reaction of anyone, as if this crazy scene never happened. Not knowing what else to do with his spare hour, he decided to go into the media cabinet, searching the web for something like this.

 _Heck, I'm supposed to become a doctor. I should be able to figure out what this is._

He wasn't. More than a hour later he sat in front of the computer with an angry frown. Aside from pseudo-religious or freaky conspiracy sites trying to pinpoint it either on the Holy Grail or Jesus Christ himself, there was nothing to find.

 _The internet is full of lunatics_ , he realised after closing the last site. _Let's hope this weird party Tobias invited me to is worth the wait._

It wasn't. The continuous flow of setbacks started to get on his nerves. The music was horrible, he knew absolutely nobody and even Tobias excused himself to go flirting with some girl he had just met, leaving him to fend for himself. Simon did that by standing at the edge of the empty dance floor, a plastic cup of cola in hand, trying not to roll his eyes too obviously. Not even twenty minutes later, he gave up and went to the station, not even bothering to say his goodbyes to Tobias. The whole trip in the train back to Einzbern Simon was brooding about how he had never ever been at a party he liked and how foolish it was to assume that he could spend a good time in this one. He was so deep in thought that he only ever realized that the sun was going down after leaving the train. The park on his way back home was surprisingly devoid of any life, but he decided on short notice to just enjoy the walk and not let himself get dragged down by his mood.

The summer air was still surprisingly warm when Simon sat down on a bench. With the first stars shimmering in the dark-blue-to-orange sky he would have expected it to be more chilly. He relaxed and closed his eyes. Despite the bleeding part, the exam went rather well. It was a successful day and a good start into the lecture free time gap. He inhaled deeply and just relaxed for a while. When he opened them again, something had changed. It was not only that it had become significantly darker. It took him a few seconds to realize but it was the wind what had set him off. There was a soft breeze pickling his skin only a few moments ago, but now it was as if cut off. The leaves of the trees surrounding him were frozen in their movement, too. He knew it to be stupid to think about such small irregularities, but Simon could not help but wonder at that point. And then he saw something everyone would have wondered about. Right in front of him, at the opposite of the road and in the middle of the empty meadow, a bright silver light was emitted by the ground. Simon sat up and stepped carefully closer, unsure what exactly he was just witnessing. It looked like some kind of magical circle carved into the ground, but if there were hidden LEDs, there were very difficult to make out. Instead the circle itself seemed to emit the light. Simon looked around, but aside from himself, there was nobody to see who could have been responsible for it. Then he saw in the corner of his eye that not only the ground glowed, the strange mark on his right hand did as well.

 _What the-_

In this instance, a sudden flash blinded him, letting him stagger back in surprise. When he opened his eyes and they started to adjust to the darkness again, the glowing circle had disappeared. Instead, there stood a single figure in front of him. A very young woman with blonde hair, clad in something that looked like a plain green uniform and wearing a fitting cap on top of it. It needed a few more seconds for Simon to realize that the leather belt strapped around her right shoulder belonged to a rifle she was carrying behind her back. Simon blinked. If it didn't sound so crazy, everything looked like some kind of crazy occult summoning ritual for a demon, but this girl... how could she be a demon? He was further baffled when she looked at him, smiling broadly and just stepped towards him onto the road.

"Ah, you must be my Master! Nice to meet you, I'm Roza", she greeted happily, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Uh... well, good evening", was everything Simon managed to spit out.

"Everything alright? You don't look all too well", she hesitated, but at the end decided to take her hand back, folding her arms behind her back and waiting patiently for a reply.

Simon blinked, being at a loss for words. Aside from her looking like as if she stepped out of a war movie, he saw how she instead stepped out of a freaking demonic circle, so he guessed he should have every reason to be suspicious.

"What do you want from me?", he asked carefully.

He still hoped for it to turn out like some kind of practical joke. She probably stepped into the light while he was blinded.

"Now this is a curious question. You summoned me, silly", she explained matter-of-factly.

"What? How?"

She frowned, her warm smile flickering and her expression turning to worry.

"Wait... are you saying that you didn't draw the circle and didn't say any incantations?"

"Why should I do something like this?", he couldn't help but screech his answer.

"Oh no...", with her eyes trailing off into the distance her expression changed again, but this time to horror. "Oh no, no! It's a trap!"

Simon watched how she reached to the belt at her shoulder and readied the gun in one swift motion. It looked terribly real with its massive scope and all. She then pulled back some kind of metal handle, resulting in an audible clicking sound that Simon even with his nonexistent knowledge about weapons knew was a bad sign.

"Down!", she yelled at him.

He stood, frozen in place. She made a face and waved with the gun into his general direction.

"Down!", she commanded him again.

This time his body complied and Simon threw himself limbless onto the ground, waiting for his last moments to pass. Then the silence of the park shuddered under the first bang that made his ears ring. A gunshot. He had never heard one in his life and never thought he would ever do. He also never imagined them to be as ridiculously loud as the one he had just perceived. But in this very moment, he realized that the person stepping out of the circle was no fake and that she was indeed armed with lethal weaponry. Simon then heard a click. And then another shot. A click. A shot. Another click. Another shot. All of them in rapid succession. He finally managed to cover his ears, but despite also hearing the pounding of his own heart, it didn't change how he could still hear the gun and how its sound send shivers through his spine.

 _A dream, a bad, bad dream... that's what it must be._

Simon then opened his eyes, but much to his dismay he still saw the feet of the strange woman in front of him. Bang. Click. Bang. Click. Two cartridge casings fell into his view, but the very moment they hit the ground with a thud and sprang back to the air, both vanished into a shimmering blue mist, not leaving any trace.

 _Magic. So she is a demon after all!_

She then stepped forward, rushing to his left side and going into a kneeling position. Bang. Click. Bang. Click. Again and again. Simon pressed his hands harder against his ears, trembling with fear.

"Get up!", despite his efforts, he heard her plea as clear as if she was speaking directly into his head. "Get up, please!"

She obviously gave up with the verbal approach. Simon felt a hand grabbing his arm and dragging him roughly into the air. He whirled around, looking at the woman besides him and looking at the darkness ahead. His legs felt like clay.

"There are too many of them. If we remain within the bounded field, I cannot guarantee your safety", she explained before laying on her gun again.

Another bang echoed through the park, accompanied by the flash of her muzzle. For a split second, the dark forest in front of him was as bright as day. And during this split second, Simon recognized countless dark shadows lurking in front of the two of them, slowly approaching and trying to encircle them. And eyes. So many green eyes.

"Wolves?", he called out in astonishment. "What are they doing in the middle of town?"

Roza answered by firing her gun again in rapid succession. Each time one of the wolves went down and disappeared in a black mist.

 _They are not real wolves_ , Simon realized in astonishment.

"We need to improve our position", she said, lowering her gun. "Hold tight."

"What?"

While numerous howling wolves rushed forward, their eyes glimmering, Roza put her left hand around Simons hip, pulling him close.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"We'll find out after the landing", she replied, favouring him a smirk.

"Landing?"

Simon then felt the ground under his feet slipping. No, it wasn't slipping. They were flying. The young woman had pushed herself off the ground in one giant leap, pulling him with her. Feeling gravity dragging him back down to earth, he clutched to her tightly, clawing into her side with the arm he had instinctively put around her back. They were several meters above the ground, passing numerous howling and roaring animals aground, who didn't seem to like their flight at all. But then everything went awry. When they drew closer to the ground, their tight embrace loosened, letting the velocity of the jump send them tumbling down in a mess of arms and legs. Simon tried to roll off the worst of it, but instead he just slithered across the meadow back first. He heard his shirt ripping, every muscle in his body was aching and he felt as if he had lost a big chunk of his skin. Roza didn't land much softer, but she was already afoot, readying her gun again.

"Was this your plan?", he asked, writhing in agony and desperately trying to push himself off the ground.

"In my defence, this whole superhuman-abilities-thing is relatively new to me", she replied between two gunshots.

"Don't you have to reload?", he wondered loudly after managing to stand up.

She laughed and it made his heart race in the moment of this insanity.

"Of all things, you are wondering about me reloading?", she grinned at him, before firing again into the dark woods.

"Good point", Simon admitted.

She then turned around, her face suddenly becoming serious again. She pointed into the distance behind him.

"The bounded field ends a couple dozen meters in this direction. Run! Run as fast as you can, I will hold them off!"

Roza didn't had to order him twice again. He managed to ignore his pain and ran. He ran in a straight line across the meadow, through bushes and brushing trees. Simon knew that he was running for his very life.

 _It must be a dream. A mad, mad dream. It can't be real. It's madness!_

He was then suddenly tackled by a roaring shadow, sending him crashing into the ground. Simon felt something sharp piercing both his legs and his left arm, but he was hard-pressed to care about anything else than the mouth full of teeth that was trying to snap at his throat. He had somehow managed to get his right arm between himself and the creature, desperately pushing against its rugged mane. But he was no match in strength and weight against the monster that wasn't a wolf but an angry lion, wherever that came from now.

Bang.

The shimmer in the lion's eyes vanished. As did their focus when they trailed off him. The creature suddenly sagged down limbless, giving Simon the chance to pull it to the side. It was surprisingly easy, since its weight rapidly decreased while it began to evaporate into black mist like all the other attackers. Simon looked behind him and saw Roza standing there, casually ejecting a cartridge case with a quick pull of the lever on her gun.

"Everything alright?", she asked, panic plainly written on her face.

Simon didn't answer, only wordlessly struggling to his feet.

Two other shadows emerged from the bushes. At first he thought them to be other lions, but despite them being freakishly huge, those looked like pigs to him. After Roza shot them down, one of them slithered until it stopped directly in front of his feet.

"A boar... Why is a goddamn zoo trying to kill us?", he mumbled, exasperated.

"Don't stop running, it's not much further."

Instead he turned around, watching how she desperately tried to fend off waves of dangerous beasts with her precisely aimed shots. She was so focused on the smaller critters, she never realized the huge, looming shadow that approached her from her side.

"Watch out!"

Roza somehow managed to bring the barrel of her gun between herself and the creature, but it didn't stop it from effortlessly knocking her down with one of its huge paws. The massive brown bear then proceeded to step onto the girl on the ground, trying to kill her.

 _No!_

In a fit of madness, Simon refused to do the reasonable thing of escaping, but instead charged the beast, trying to tackle it. It seemed a rather pointless effort, since the creature didn't even budge a centimetre. Instead Simon was rewarded for his trouble by the bear turning halfway around and punching him with the back of his paw, sending him crashing to the ground again.

 _So much for playing the hero._

Bang. Another gunshot rang through the night. Then a clicking sound, then another gunshot. As if struck by lightning, the creature collapsed next to where Simon was pushing himself up, crouching towards the strange woman. She was still lying there on her back. She was covered in scratch marks, especially badly on her belly where the bear had struck her the first time. She bit her teeth, trying to look tough, but it was evident that she was under great pain.

"You're bleeding", he said aghast.

It seemed surreal. Only a moment ago, she had looked to him like a demon escaped from hell, but now she looked only too human to him. She gave him an aching smile.

"It's nothing. I'm just happy I was blessed with a brave Master.", she used her rifle as a crutch to pull herself onto her feet. "But please, hurry now. You have to escape!"

He nodded in agreement, while she lay on her rifle again, giving him cover-fire. Simon whirled around and saw a light passing between the leaves of the nearby bushes. It must have been a car on the road, signalling the end of the park. He made a dash for it, ignoring everything on his path, until he reached the sidewalk. Simon felt a dreading tickle in his chest when he passed the borders of the park, but as soon as he had paved ground under his feet, it was over. He then passed the road and stopped at the other side of it, in front a big apartment complex. Turning around, he waited for Roza to emerge from the bushes. But she didn't. An eerie silence crept up the street. While he was running for his life, every step was accompanied by her gunshots, but now there was nothing to hear of it. It seemed so unreal. If not for the aching pain in his body reminding him of his stunts, everything now felt as if it never happened.

 _Is she..._

There were so many of those creatures. The possibility of her being overwhelmed was there, but it somehow caused dread in his heart thinking about such an outcome. She tried to save him after all. She came out of nowhere, but she really risked her life for him... and maybe...

His train of thoughts was interrupted when a certain person in a dark khaki uniform stumbled backwards onto the street. The world was suddenly lit up by her muzzle flashes and the echoing of the gunshots reminded him that it wasn't over. She ran to his right side, already prepared to continue the fight.

"They are surprisingly persistent", she commented.

Trying not to look too relieved about her being alive, Simon just nodded in agreement. Soon thereafter, numerous of those wild animals also broke out of the green park, charging them howling and roaring. Most of them were wolves, but Simon saw also a few lions, boars and even a tiger. It didn't matter to Rosa, she only focused on aiming and hitting in quick succession.

"What the heck is going on?", a male voice shouted from a window above them and simultaneously the main entrance of the apartment building flew open when a group of angry people emerged.

"We've told you little punks a thousand times that we won't tolerate neither you nor your stupid firecrackers!", a middle aged woman yelled at them. "It is still a long way to go to New Years Eve, so... wait, you aren't... who-", she froze in shock when she saw Roza and her rifle.

Simon looked back and forth between the newcomers and the park, but much to his surprise, the dangerous animals had disappeared before anyone else could have seen them.

"I... I... we don't want any trouble, we...", the leading woman stuttered, the other residents staying silent in the background.

"There is no need to be afraid, the danger is over", Roza said appeasingly.

"I think she was referring to your gun", Simon whispered to her.

She looked down and eyed it as if she only then realized what was in her hands.

"Oh...", she said, looking up again at the small crowd. "Oh!"

She then started to giggle in the most innocent way Simon had ever heard. The angry people were pretty much as startled as he was.

"This is not a real gun. Did you really thought so?", she replied, smiling from ear to ear. "You may think it is a toy for a costume festival and I just showed my friend here how its blanks sound."

"In the middle of night?", was the incredulous answer.

"Probably not the best idea, you're right", she admitted sheepishly.

The woman looked both of them over, gaining a more favourable expression after seeing Roza's uniform which indeed seemed like a fancy costume. Much to his shock, Simon realized that in the meantime, all of her wounds had disappeared and not even a trace of blood soiled it. Much in difference to his own appearance which caused a frown after the woman saw him.

"And what the hell is your costume supposed to mean."

Simon gulped and struggled for words.

"Uh... I... I got mauled by a lion."

It was pretty much the first thing that went through his head. The woman looked him over a second time, eying his torn shirt, overall stained clothes and horrible, still bleeding scratch marks on both his legs and his left arm.

"Ah, I see...", she said.

"Well anyways, I apologize for the disturbance. We promise it will never happen again", Roza then ended the conversation by taking Simon's hand and dragging him away, leaving the startled crowd to fend for itself.

In this manner, Simon let himself guided by her until they were out of eyesight of them.

"You know you're hurting me", he complained along the way. "Please stop it already, my arm is long enough."

She stopped, letting go of his hand and facing him with a worried look.

"Did we finally get rid of them?", he asked, clutching the wound on his arm.

"Not really. They are still lurking around, but it seems they don't dare attack us here in public again. Oh my... you look horrible."

"I noticed...", Simon sighed.

"It's all my fault, I...", she began to lament, staring off into the distance. "Please, you must believe me. If I had known it to not be a proper summoning, I would never have answered the call... I'm terribly, terribly sorry for everything."

Simon still had no idea what she was talking about, but in this very moment, he only cared for the aching in his back.

"Just... just let me sit down for a moment, please."

Wordlessly he went off to a bus stop nearby, taking seat on the bench there. It was relieving not to get reminded of his cut legs with each step, even if all his other bruises were still there and made their presence still known to him. Roza leaned against one of the canopy's walls, watching him anxiously.

"Okay... it seems we now have some room to take a breath... So... what the hell just happened?", Simon finally got to ask.

"The Grail War happened. The symbol on your right hand are Command Spells and the proof that you were chosen as worthy for participation. Don't ask me too much about the details, I am no Magus, only a simple soldier...", she shook her head in confusion. "It's all about seven Masters summoning seven Heroic Spirits from the past. They then battle to find out who's worthy of the Grail, a device that can grant any wish to the one who acquires it."

Simon looked at her with a frown.

"So... 'Heroic Spirit' means, you are not a demon?"

"What? No!", she replied with wide eyes. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Well... either in the part with the glowing magic circle or the part where I nearly got eaten by a lion."

"I already said how sorry I am about that... I...", she bit her lip in frustration.

"So you mean, those creatures were the other Heroic Spirits?"

"Unlikely... They were familiars summoned by one of our enemies. Don't ask why I know such things, it is confusing for me as well. The moment I agreed to participate, I somehow gained some bits of information about all this."

Simon leaned back, resting his head against the glass wall behind him. He now also got a headache, as if he hadn't had already enough pain to sustain.

"You said it was a trap..."

"My only guess is that whoever summoned those nasty critters also set up the magic circle and the Bounded Field cutting the park off from the rest of the city. They waited for someone with Command Spells to trigger the circle, summoning me and then went for an easy kill in the confusion", Roza explained.

"So they didn't target specifically me, but anyone who could have stepped into the park...", he realized with horror. "Who would do such a thing?"

She shrugged helplessly.

"Can it happen again? To someone else, I mean."

"Probably..."

"We must stop it", Simon suddenly said.

He knew they barely escaped alive, but he wouldn't wish anyone else to have to go through what he had to undergo. Roza must have felt the same because she smiled approvingly.

"A valiant decision, Master. But we should leave it for tomorrow. You need your rest and I don't think they'll trigger the Bounded Field during the light of day."

"Fine... Until then...", he rubbed his temples in a vain attempt to cure his headache. "I don't get it. Why me?"

"I can't help you answer this question. The Grail probably sensed some deep wish you want to fulfil or it just likes to mess with people. You'll have to know yourself. All I know is that I will help you win with the best of my abilities."

"There is no way for me to quit, is there?", Simon asked with a tired smile.

"Not that I know of, sorry..."

It was a lot for Simon to swallow. Until now, he had thought to live in a world of science and rationality. And now he was dragged into some kind of magical death battle with this strange girl he knew for fifteen minutes at most. It was certainly not what he had planned to spend his lecture free time on.

"Well then... I think I should go home now... And you need a place to stay, don't you?", Simon said, standing up.

"I'm not picky about my accommodation. Being a spirit and all."

"What do you mean?"

She answered by turning into a transparent shade. It was a weird thing to watch. He knew she was there, since she moved not a bit, but he somehow felt that he was only able to see by actively looking for her.

"It's my spirit form. I can make myself invisible to anyone but you and other Heroic Spirits. Neat, isn't it? It's also practical to avoid attention by walking around in my Red Army uniform. People might get the wrong idea."

"Red Army? You mean like from Soviet Russia? Your German is surprisingly good for someone from there."

"Another practical Grail feature... Trust me, otherwise some of my older spirit colleagues would get serious communication problems."

She rematerialized again, following him when he began to move into the direction of the apartment he shared with his fellow university students.

 _Hiding her won't do... She's human after all... kind of... I need to introduce her to the others, everything else would feel strange._

"So... you said your name was Roza?", he stopped mid-walk. "Now I have to be sorry, it was rude of me not to shake this hand you offered."

He now hold his own out to her.

"My name is Simon Berger. There is not much to say about me... I'm a medical student in my first year. And I guess I continue to need your help to survive the next days."

She didn't hesitate for a moment, shaking his hand with a strong grip.

"Well, nice to officially greet one another. As I said, I'm Roza. Roza Shanina. I was Senior Sergeant of the First Sniper Platoon in the 184th rifle division, but in this strange war I was summoned as your Servant. Oh no, I almost forgot", she drew back her hand to touch her forehead with it instead. "It is a minor rule in this war that we Heroic Spririts should try not to let the enemy know our true names. I don't have many flashy tricks up my sleeve, so it is rather pointless in my case, but... if we are in the presence of the enemy, try not to refer to me by name."

"How else should I call you then?", Simon frowned.

"Well, the standard way is to use the class a Servant is summoned in", she smirked happily. "So please just refer to me as Assassin!"

* * *

It was surprisingly strange and... personal, to write about a person who would be only roughly 91 years old if she hadn't died. I just hope my interpretation of her does do this very interesting person justice.

I also hear the rules lawyers already growling. Oh yes, I know... she doesn't look like a Hassan. And oh no, a Servant with a gun! Unthinkable! Considering the only true 'true' Assassins we've seen so far were in Zero and in Heaven's Feel, while we also got Sazaki, Jack the Ripper and numerous others I don't think the Einzbern Grail should stick to this particular rule. It would be boring and limiting. I am also not much of a fan of this whole 'modern people are not worthy enough to be stored in the Throne of Heroes'-thing. I call bullshit. Everyone who is remembered and has formed some kind of renown should be stored there. It is unfair to exempt heroes of the World Wars and the modern day. So long as one sticks to the rule that Servants grow in strength through fame and age, there should be no balancing issues. If you want an In-Universe-Explanation, I could also say that since the Fuyuki Grail was created in 1800-something, it could only summon people who died before 1800-something. Since the Einzbern Grail was created in 2000-something, everyone who died before can be summoned.


	4. Chapter 3 - Nina

You may have seen in the previous chapters that I'm not much of a fan of hiding the Servants' identities for long. While this might be a fun guessing game in some cases, the legends are a selling point of the franchise and I find it more fun as a reader to know who the characters are to see how the author tries to do them justice. This is the reason I gave two of the identities away early on. But for next ones I think they are iconic enough to let you guess for their identities for a bit.

* * *

Chapter 3 - Nina

Nina lay on the bed, half covered by the blanket and listening to her heavy breathing. Her eyes had trailed off to the back of her hand. The whole hand was covered in tattoos and while she still loved the craftsmanship put into the art, there was something off this day. The rose petals of a rose depicted on her right hand were more red than usual and it didn't look as if it were only the pigments. When putting her fingers on it, the rose petals felt much different than the surrounding skin. They were also somehow sunken into her flesh, as if several layers of the skin were missing. Nina was a bit worried about this. This particular piece of her tattoo was roughly a week old and she knew the artist very well. There were a few idiots in the gang who were dumb enough to get themselves one in a back alley shop by some amateur with a rusty needle, but Nina never belonged to those. So a botched and infected painting was very unlikely, but she hadn't any other rational explanation. She decided to show it to him, but only if it got any worse. Nina had no intention to look as if she was freaked out by a little bit of colour. Especially since the skin didn't hurt or anything.

Relieved she led her hand fall down back into the bed and looked up, watching Nick as he was already afoot and prowling the room in search for his clothing. Strangely enough, she thought that he looked younger than he even was this way.

"So what are we up to today?", she asked.

"We're moving, that's what we're doing? Did you forget that or something?", he groaned, struggling to get his shirt on.

She didn't. She just simply didn't expect it to fall on a Monday. He was likely just acting on a whim, she thought. She would have preferred a Saturday, especially considering most members who actually had a real job.

"So I take it you finally found a suitable location?", she asked further, ignoring his question.

"Several, actually", he replied, putting on his trousers. "We'll gather the boys and then set out. It'll be fun."

Nick grinned broadly.

"I hope so", she said.

Nearly an hour later they swung onto their bikes and rode out. The early morning sun shone down relentlessly, making the wearing of the black jackets with the purple "Vipers"-insignia annoyingly uncomfortable, but cruising along the streets with the wind blowing at her face more than made up for it. She watched Nick who drove in front of her. He was surprisingly twitchy, looking left and right and made a show of his howling engine when waiting for a red light to pass.

 _He must be up to something specific_ , Nina realized warily.

She never liked it when he was like that. Most of the time he was really fun to be around, but on some days he was somehow not like himself. In one moment he was brimming with energy, like this day, but this energy was only spend in a non-harmful manner if things went his way. Heck even then he was able to lash out, imagining something that ticked him off. Nina really hated these days when his temper flared up. She had to remain careful for the rest of the day or otherwise he'd surely explode.

"Where are the rest of them?", Nick demanded when they arrived at their usual meeting point at a roadhouse right next to the motorway of Einzbern.

It wasn't a place they frequented for the good food (in fact everyone in his right mind tried to avoid it), but had always enough parking lots for all of them and here nobody would complain about the racket of their motorcycles. Well, especially not this day, since only half a dozen bikers with the Viper emblem were waiting for them.

"When did you send the text mail?", Nina asked carefully.

"What has this to do with anything?", he spat back. "I'm the boss, right? Don't they have to obey when I say it is time to gather?"

"I'm just asking because it will be difficult for people to obey orders received in so short a notice that nobody is able to even read them in time."

"The mails were send yesterday, so what?", he replied, rolling his eyes. "More than enough time to check your mobile phone."

 _Sure... but not to rearrange one's timetable._

"We'll just wait a bit more and see who will arrive", she said, trying to appease.

Nick snorted but didn't say anything, he just impatiently drummed with his fingers on the handle of his bike. Nina guessed he found it important to gather a large chunk of the gang, but she was still in the dark about the reason. And she had no intention to ask since he would only snarl at her when he was in this mood. So they waited and in fact quite a few members arrived in their usual delay. Others excused themselves by sending Nick a text message, resulting in him groaning each time his phone rang.

"That's it, I'm not going to wait a minute more...", he said after what could have been twenty minutes and four messages.

"What he wanted to say is that he is glad you were all able to come", Nina addressed the gang.

"Don't you dare assume to know what I want to say! If I wanted to say it like that I would have done it", Nick barked back. "So now, boys, we're going to leave. You all know why I invited you. It's because we were tasked to establish a clubhouse for the Vipers chapter. I have found three different localities which could be suitable, so we're paying them a visit and see how it goes."

He then let his motorcycle howl and started off onto the street, all the other gang members slowly followed. Nina sighed. So this is what his impatience was all about. The mother organization of the Vipers had most likely contacted him, telling him how disappointed they were about how long it took him to organize the clubhouse. Their chapter was young and Nick was eager to prove himself as the Einzbern representative, but up until now he wasn't quite able to meet up their expectations. They were probably thinking about kicking him out having realized that while Nick might be a good member who could give his everything for the club, he was terrible as an organiser. So now there he was, gathering the boys to let them vote on one of the three locations he had likely just googled the day before in his panic.

"Uh... I... I am not exactly sure the property is what the gentleman imagined...", the first real estate broker stuttered when faced with eighteen gruff looking bikers.

Nina was hard pressed not to roll her eyes in too obvious a manner. The man was scared. And the building was clearly not suited for their case. They were in one of the better areas of Einzbern, a couple of minutes into the first sighting. It was a tall, square building between a lawyers office and a tailor. Three floors high and with an underground garage which could have looked like a good idea on paper. Sadly, the man was right in his assessment.

"What do you mean by that?", Nick asked incredulous.

"Well... I... kind of... expected a more business oriented prospective costumer", the broker said, flinching.

"Of course we mean business, why do you think we're here?"

He was a short man with a receding hairline and sporting glasses. He even wore a suit! Nina took pity on him for he was clearly fooled by Nick contacting him. She knew it would cause the wrath of her boyfriend but she had to intervene before things got more out of hand.

"He means that the building is made as a company bureau. Look, all the floors above the ground one consist of office rooms. We don't need those, at least not as many", she explained carefully.

"How should you know how many we need? I still say how many we need!", Nick snarled back which was pretty much what she expected.

"So... do we need so many then?", said Martin, one of the boys, in a rather innocent way.

Nicks focus shifted from Nina to him, giving him a deadly glare as he wheezed.

"Maybe... not so many...", he admitted sheepishly. "Fine then, you heard it. This one was a waste of time..."

He then proceeded to storm out in a huff, likely thinking it a given that the startled gang members would follow him. Some did. Especially his friends of old who were with him when he still knew what he was doing. Martin was among those who looked after him.

"Thanks for the rescue", Nina said.

"No probs...", he replied. "Say, why are you going out with this guy again?"

"I wonder, I wonder...", she mumbled, deciding it for the better to get going.

Of course she knew she had to wonder. Everything else would mean she was stupid. His behaviour bothered her, but to a degree only because she worried of what he had become. She knew Nick since Primary School and she had fond memories of him being a pretty cool guy to be around. Back then he was very attentive to her, he never looked back when he did something and had a way to make her enjoy herself in his company. It had been just a matter of time until they were together and since then she never really thought about their relationship as anything than a given. Well, now she was not even able to remember when exactly she first doubted it to be the right thing.

 _He's just nasty because he is down to his luck_ , she thought sullenly while jumping back on her bike again, heading for the next location. _But why exactly?_

When she was thinking about it like that, she wasn't exactly sure why he was complaining so often during the last months. Sure he had lost a job to no fault of his own, but him concentrating on the club activities to get himself back to his feet allowed him to gain the trust to organise the Einzbern chapter in the first place. Nina had expected him to feel uplifted to get so much attention, but instead he became worse. It were the boys, she knew it. Not that they necessarily supported him, but he somehow must have gotten the idea to prove himself wherever he went. And when this meant to belittle others, even Nina, he went with it. It was annoying and it was childish, but she still had hope that he would be able to get himself together. Maybe if one of the clubhouse locations he found wouldn't be a disaster, it would make a good start.

 _Certainly not this one for sure._ , she thought grimly.

It was a tedious ride this time. They wasted more than one and a half hour to get there, so far outside of Einzbern was it located but somehow still barely inside the postal code area of the town. If it wasn't so unreasonably difficult to reach (they had to circumvent a freaking cornfield to get there), it could have sounded like a good idea to have a clubhouse somewhat detached from town. They wouldn't disturb anyone and nobody would disturb them. So this time Nick had a point.

"It's a freaking shed...", Martin said aghast.

"It's not so bad, really...", Nick tried to defend himself. "It was once a warehouse, so it has sufficient space on the ground level."

The area looked as if it belonged to a bigger farm area which became deserted. The 'shed' itself was a large quadratic metal construction without windows and a single large door.

"He has a point", Nina admitted shrugging.

"Thank you! At least one who understands...", Nick said, visibly relieved.

Nina knew she would ruin the moment, but she had to do it.

"But-"

"What?", he snapped back, his former gratitude blown away immediately.

"Well... apart from the extremely remote location which will probably ruin some club meetings, there is the fact that we're on soft farmland in the middle of nowhere. If it rains, our bikes will sink into the ground. And then... as Martin said, it is a shed."

"What's wrong with it having been a shed? We can remodel it, put some furniture into it, raise a few walls...", Nick said, crossing his arms.

"Fine, we could do all that. Or we continue searching for some building which has sanitary installations from the get-go. Come on, we can find something more suitable."

Nick looked as if he threatened to explode, but there was nothing to do. The other members already mounted their bikes again, some already having trouble to get their wheels out of the ground. Sighing, he surrendered, but not before walking close up to Nina, whispering to her in a sharp tone:

"Aren't you supposed to stand on my side?"

"Well sorry, but I see it so that I better criticize you now than the gang leadership criticises you later. And you still have a third location, don't you?"

"Yeah... and you're lucky that I saved the best for the last. Just wait and see, you'll like that one", he promised, but still remained somewhat sullen.

Nina thought that he should have started with the best one to not loose the interest of the boys, but this time she bit her tongue. They had to drive all the way back to Einzbern with some of the members already bored to death and on the verge of just leaving. It wouldn't do to start a fight.

"I'm glad to hear that", she said instead.

He seemed to calm down hearing this. Nina silently went back to her bike and started its engine, prompting Nick to do the same.

 _He seems confident, but I somehow get the feeling he chose to put that one to the last place on purpose. There might be something wrong with it._

She continued worrying the whole way back to Einzbern, but it became especially evident after they turned into the old industrial district with its abandoned factories. It was basically on the other end of the town as opposed to the farm before. She looked around, trying to find a single soul besides the bikers. She admitted that being alone was quite practical for the same reasons the farm scored a point with her, but she felt like the buildings crumbled just by looking at them. Much to her surprise there was indeed another living being in this forgotten place.

 _A boy?_

Nina eyed him curiously. It was a boy carrying a heavy bag, as if he came from school. He wandered along the sidewalk with his eyes cast to the ground. When the bulk of bikers approached, he look back to them, visibly nervous. He then turned around, trying to pass them with a fast pace. Nina was curious what had dragged him out here.

"You lost, boy?", she called out.

The boy stopped and looked up, his expression somewhere between confusion and slight fear.

 _Do I look so threatening?_

"Uh... not really. But thanks for asking", the boy called back, but he was barely to hear over the sound of the motorcycles.

"What is it? You know this worm?", Nick's voice cut through to her.

Nina watched how he turned around, aggressively gloating over the poor boy. She was sure his frustration about the failures of the day was speaking and he would be sorry later on, but right now, he was unpredictable.

"Don't be an ass, Nick. I just wanted to be nice", Nina called out, trying to defuse the situation.

"Ah you wanted to be nice. Sure you are. Got a new friend or what?", he snapped back aggressively.

 _Envy, eh? He cannot honestly think of that boy as a threat... so I guess he just tries to make himself look stronger. I must have really hurt his pride before._

By now he was driving next to the boy, cornering him even more to the wall beside him.

"You must feel lucky with my girlfriend having set her eyes on you", he said loudly, making sure Nina was able to hear as well.

"Oh Nick, just leave it!", she groaned.

Picking on some random stranger would only make him look cool in front of the lickspittles who were already his closest allies. Most of the other boys, having stopped by now and were watching the scene, were not very impressed. Quite the opposite. Nina glanced at Martin and saw him with a grim expression. Nick himself was ignoring the others, he only focused on his poor victim.

"Come on, boy", Nick pushed him, sending him roughly into the wall. "You shouldn't ignore elders who are talking to you."

"Just leave him be!", Nina pleaded.

 _It's my bloody fault. I shouldn't have spoken up. Otherwise the boy would have been long gone by now._

"What? I'm just trying to be nice myself", Nick turned back to her, a smug grin on his face.

He must have felt very clever in this instance. It didn't look so clever when the boy made use of the moment and dashed forward, trying to escape.

"Hey! Stay here, you bloody bastard!", Nick yelled out, accelerated and tried to run him down.

Seconds before he reached him, the boy jumped into the entrance to a yard of one of the abandoned factories. She saw Nick cursing and waving at a few of the aforementioned lickspittles. Three answered the call by following him into the yard. Nina wanted follow them, to try to defuse the situation, but in the same moment Martin spoke up:

"That's it. I'm going home. I can't believe I sacrificed the sleep before my nightshift for this bullshit."

"Please calm down, it is only one last location", she said desperately while he broke formation and turned around.

"Sorry, Nina. I know you do a lot for the club, but don't take it personally. My problem is just with Nick. I just can't believe anyone thought it was a good idea to give him a say in anything", he replied solemnly.

"Come on, please. He is just inexperienced. He'll improve, you'll see", she said, following him.

"No... he won't and you are a fool if you think so. You may think you have to defend everything he does, but that's neither healthy for you nor will he ever learn like this", Martin sighed. "I just wish you good luck."

"What does that mean?", Nina asked, confused. "You only drive home, don't you? Don't make it sound as if you'll not come back."

"I will come back... after Nick leaves...", with these words, Martin accelerated his bike and disappeared into the distance.

Nina stayed back and faced the remaining members who gloated at her as if they thought about doing the same. It was this moment Nick and his three overeager friends came back from the abandoned yard. The boys looked confused, but Nick himself looked horrible. The back of his black jacket was visibly dirtied by white dust and he was gritting his teeth.

"What happened?", Nina said with a frown as she returned to the group.

"N... Nothing. He just got away, that's it. He was not worth the bother. Now let's just go", he grumbled, nodding the rest of the members to just continue onwards.

While he took the lead again, Nina watched how he was checking the left side of his bike repeatedly, running with his hands across the polish with a worried expression.

 _Did he fell during the pursuit?_

She tried not to think too hard about it. Luckily, the rest of their venture was not very long. Nick led the group to one of the newer buildings, apparently a former workshop with garages and several floors above them. It was an ugly quadratic block deeply covered in graffiti and seemed abandoned like the rest of the area, but this time it seemed actually inhabitable with only minor adjustments.

"I've mailed the owners and they are actually quite happy to get rid of it for a laughably low price", Nick proclaimed smugly.

"Wow... that's... good to hear", Nina said, blinking.

"Great, so where are the small prints?", one of the boys called out.

Nicks expression darkened considerably upon being criticised again.

"There are no small prints... There is only..."

Nina sighed.

"The owners say they had trouble with trespassers while the building was abandoned. We just have to throw them out and see to it that they don't come back", the way he said it made it sound simple.

"Throwing out who? Homeless people or what?", she asked with a frown.

"Didn't sound like that, actually. Since we're all here, why don't we just look for ourselves?"

He got his answer in form of several shrugs by some of the members. Most didn't seem that eager to jump over the small fence and trespass themselves, but Nick took it as a yes. When he and a few of his closest friends made their way towards the building itself, the others followed. Nina thought that they had to look at the inside anyways, so it was not that bad an idea actually.

"Huh? It is open?", Nick said, pushing the door into the hallway.

While the shutters of the garage were closed and the windows were sealed, the door was seemingly unlocked. When Nina stepped closer to examine it, she saw that there were massive scratch marks at the key hole and at the side where the bolt of the lock was located. Whoever was responsible for this, he had not much of an idea of what he was doing.

"We'll have to change the lock it seems."

Nick nodded and took the lead into the building. Without unblocked windows and electric light, it was extremely dark, but much to their surprise, nobody used the unlocked rooms as a bedroom. They had to help themselves with lighters to see their way. Everything was devoid of furniture or any sign of someone living here. The graffiti was another thing though. While the art on the outside had the typical structure of more or less stylistic signatures used by youngsters, the walls on the inside were covered in one uniform style.

"What kind of creepy shit is this?", one of the boys asked.

"Oh god no, we are dealing with Goths now...", Nick replied laughing.

It were some kind of occult mandalas which covered every centimetre of the walls. Glancing into the first garage, they saw how there were also several differently looking magical circles drawn onto the ground. Even Nina, who usually wasn't a believer of anything magic-related, was creeped out by this.

"They must find it funny to draw them with red paint. Red like blood. Bloody freaks...", Nick said.

"Sshh!", Nina said suddenly, staring at the stairs.

"Don't sshh me in place like that", he answered loudly.

"There is light up there!", she whispered.

"And? Come on, we have the superior numbers and they are likely just a bunch of weird loners."

Nick gave her an assuring smirk before climbing the stairs. Nina looked back at the other boys, but they were not intimidated. Much the opposite, some were even grinning as if this was a fun adventure. So they followed him upstairs. And indeed, they found they were not alone. In the great room that awaited them, a thick fog illuminated by numerous candles greeted them. The candles were sewn across the room as if they followed a certain pattern, but it was impossible to make out. Nina just knew they had to be careful not to knock them over and accidentally burn down the only reasonable find Nick made this day.

"Silber und Eisen für die Elemente", a suspiciously young voice sang. „Fester Stein und der Erzherzog aller Verträge als Grundlage."

Even Nick became quite by now. As they approached the centre of the room, they found five hooded figures crowded around another magic circle. The only reason this one was visible at all was because it was glowing brightly.

"Als den Vorfahren rufe ich den großen Meister, Schweinorg", one of the figures continued his mystic chant. „Schließe die Tore in alle grundsätzlichen Richtungen. Komme hervor-"

„What the hell is going on here?", Nick called out amused.

All five figures winced simultaneously as Nick just stepped into their circle, grabbing the ominous chanter by the neck.

"No... please...", he screeched as his hood was pulled back.

"You're kidding me!", Nick called out. "You punks are just a bunch of kids playing in the dark?"

Nina judged him to be no more than fifteen years as he stared at Nick with terror in his eyes.

"Who are you? What do you want from us", another painfully young voice belonging to one of the other hooded figures spoke up.

The remaining gang members stepped into the light of the still glowing magic circle. The children broke formation, stepping back from them in fear.

"Actually we should ask you that. What are you doing in this godforsaken place?", Nina called out.

"Only something that goes far beyond your understanding of anything", a girl's voice said. "Please leave us, you'll ruin the summoning."

"Leave?", Nick gave a vicious laugh. "This is now our territory. You are the one who are going to leave!"

"Argh...", the boy whined in pain as Nick dragged him away.

"Don't hurt him!", one of the other kids yelled.

"Make me stop...", he replied in an annoyed tone.

"What are you doing?", Nina demanded with dread.

"Just bringing out the trash", he said nonchalantly.

Nick then proceeded to throw the poor boy down the stairs. She saw him writhing in pain down there, not daring to get up again.

"No!", the girl screeched.

"That was unnecessary", Nina grumbled. "He could have broken his neck."

"So what? It's their fault for wandering around in the dark. So who wants to fly next?", he laughed and a few of his more loyal friends did too, albeit their laughter was a bit forced and just reeked of nervosity.

Nina faced the children and spoke in a low voice:

"Just take your friend and go, quickly please. Before it gets more ugly."

Some of the hooded children seemed inclined to obey, but not the girl. She passed Nina and stepped into the way of Nick.

"You hurt him", she said, acid in her voice.

"Seems so... Maybe you can use your voodoo magic to heal him, can you?", he mocked with a grin.

"You shouldn't underestimate us", she threatened darkly. "This is not a game."

"It isn't? Well, I only see a bunch of kids trying to look cool by doing this sick satanistic crap I see here. You are freaks and you are going to leave. Now!"

The girl stretched both her arms out and pointed with her palms at Nick.

"You will pay for what you did! Gandr!", she shouted loudly.

If she had expected anything to happen, it didn't. Most of the boys were chuckling about her child's play and even Nina had to admit, that her make-believe attack was as ridiculous as it was sad. Only Nicks smile faltered a bit, a he scratched his breast at which the girl had aimed at.

"Did you little bitch just threw a needle after me?", he asked with a frown.

Nina thought she had misheard what he said, but she was pretty sure this was it. The girl gulped, staggering back as Nick approached her with a dark expression.

"You want to play with me. Sure we can. I'll show you what I do with rats like you."

She had watched for long enough. Nina shook her head in frustration before stepping between them.

"Nick, don't! Just leave it for once! They are just kids."

"I'm just teaching them a lesson, this has nothing to do with you", he tried to push her aside, but Nina grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Hey! Let go of me!", he shoved her angrily away, still going after the child which just stood there frozen.

Nina was pissed, but she let go of him the second she realized that her hand was glowing. For a moment, she just stared at her rose tattoo, unable to think rationally in her amazement. Then everything went white. A blinding flash illuminated the whole room, sending most of the boys tumbling backwards.

 _The circle... it-_

She whirled around, looking at the source of it. The magical circle which had continued to glow ominously during the whole squabble was nowhere to be seen after the light had disappeared and darkness swallowed the room again. Several of the candles were blown out, but the light of the remaining ones was enough to make out a shining figure who surely didn't stand there a second before.

"Whoa!", several of the kids called out.

"It... it really worked?", the girl said in amazement.

In the middle of the room she stood like a living goddess. She wore a shining armor of polished bronze, a heavy helmet with thick cheek plates of the same material and adorned with a flowing green crest which flowed down to her neck. Her left hand held a crescent-shaped shield which was richly decorated. And while she stood in attention, watching the quarrel in front of her with observant red eyes, she rested on a wooden spear with a darkly golden shimmering bronze tip.

 _How is she... what is going on?_

"Attack them! Now!", the girl suddenly shouted. "You must defend us!"

The woman in the ancient armor tilted her head slighly.

"I'm sorry but this isn't how it works, little one", she said gravely.

"But... but we summoned you. Mustn't you do what we say?", the girl pleaded.

"I pledge my loyalty only to the person who was chosen as my Master. And in this room there is only one person who got the blessing of the Grail."

It was this moment Nick used to continue shoving Nina out of his way, but then everything happened insanely fast. The very second he touched her as roughly as he did, the strange woman tensed and her red eyes focused on him. Then she disappeared in a blur. Nina only heard a terrible knock and Nick went down with a shriek, a spear at his throat.

"No, don't!", Nina called out, barely realising what had happened.

And much to her surprise, the stranger listened. She froze in her movement and looked at her in confusion.

"Why should you care for his life?", the stranger asked, reproach in her voice.

"She's my girlfriend, she's my girlfriend!", Nick screeched in his panic.

He looked terribly pathetic in this instant and the doubtful glance the woman shot at him certainly didn't help. Ignoring him, she continued to wait for Nina's answer. She knew she had to say something about him being important to her. But somehow the words never left her lips.

"It's just wrong to kill him...", she said in a low voice.

Everyone else in the room just stared at the crazy scene, too confused to intervene. The stranger looked back and forth between Nina and Nick, apparently having trouble to make sense of her words.

"I see...", she said after a short while, but still didn't make any move to release her squirming victim. "But I won't allow my Master to let herself weakened through her connection to this sorry excuse of a man."

"Master?", Nina said astonished.

The woman smiled under her helmet.

"It is true. It was your call I answered. So I came forth to pledge you my loyalty as your Servant of the Lancer class in the battles we will face in the future. But right now I have to question your worthiness if you continue to fool yourself about him."

"How... you just arrived a moment ago. How can... how do you presume to be able to judge him and me?"

The woman's response was a bitter laugh which cut straight into her chest.

"I didn't need more than a glance. The way he treated you as if you were an obstacle to him... Hah, I've seen more than enough foolish weaklings who never realized the harm men like him cause. I say look at him! Look at him and tell me with a straight face he is worthy of your affections!"

Nina looked at him, a strangling knot in her throat. She saw the pleading way he looked at her. She didn't say anything.

"Good", Lancer snorted. "As you wished, I will let him live. But I promise on my honour and the name of my divine father that I will kill him if he ever dares to step into your life again. You will never achieve the greatness you are capable of with him impeding you."

She then drew back her spear and kicked him roughly into his side.

"Get up, pig. Get up and run, you hear me!"

Wordlessly, Nick scrambled onto his feet and fled in such a frenzy that he fell down the stairs and nearly hit the poor boy who had watched from down there. Seconds later, he was out of sight, having supposedly left the building.

"So... now that this is out of the way..."

Lancer sighed and eyed the many people around her warily. She seemed especially interested in the gang members who still watched, not knowing what to do.

"Are these the warriors you are commanding?", she asked Nina, her voice softening audibly.

"Commanding... I... I... I don't think so", Nina replied truthfully.

"Is that so?", Lancer wondered before facing one of the boys, seemingly chosen at random. "You! Where are your loyalties at?"

The man was as much at a loss of words as Nina was.

"Loyalties?", he just echoed, prompting Lancer to roll her eyes.

"Don't tell me I have to explain you the meaning of the word! There must be someone whom you would obey. I see you all have the same insignias on your clothes, so I take it you are some kind of unit."

"Uh... yes! Yes, we are", he replied then. "We are the Vipers."

"So... who is your leader then?"

He gulped and even Nina had to think about the question. She would have answered with some of the country-wide leaders of the gang or the one supervising the county. But most of the boys had only direct contact with the one responsible for Einzbern and this one was...

"Well, you just threw him out", the man answered with a little chuckle.

"How convenient", Lancer stated, turning back to Nina. "What is your name, Master?"

"Nina Linke", she said courtly.

"So be it then", she bent her knee and put her weapon down to Nina's feet. "My spear is yours to command, Nina Linke. For me it will mean victory or death in the face of our enemies. I won't accept any middle ground. Do you accept me as your champion?"

Nobody dared to say a word, not even the children who were visibly unhappy about how their weird ceremony turned out after all. Nina gulped.

"How can I deny such a request?", she asked back.

"Then it is done. Our contract is complete", Lancer went back up, now addressing the whole group. "Now then it is up to you to decide, proud warriors of the Vipers. You've seen your pitiful leader abandoning his position. I ask you now, do you accept Nina Linke as your new rightful leader so that she will be able to guide your way to victory? If you trust her, say so. If not, you are free to leave the same way your pathetic excuse of a leader left before."

Silence. Everyone stared at Lancer and nobody dared to say a word. Then came a chuckle. It was the man she had addressed shortly before. He chuckled and then clapped his hands. Others followed suit. Only a moment later, every present member of the Vipers gave Nina an assuring smile. They followed her. And the very second she realized this, she felt as powerful as never before.


	5. Chapter 4 - Simon

Wow, the size of the story begins to get out of hand. I actually had planned to cover the whole next day of Simon and Assassin in the this chapter. But it all turned out to become something very different... While I expect many of you to only be here to read about all the awesome battles between historical people, I do hope some of you appreciate if I take my time to flesh out the characters a bit more.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Simon

Simon opened the door and carefully peeked inside. He felt himself incredibly silly, scouting out his own home like a thief. But he didn't intend to get caught looking like he did. It was only a couple of minutes after his and Roza's encounter with the bloodthirsty wildlife in the park. And he was still covered in scratch marks and wearing his torn clothes. He already wasn't looking forward to explain the presence of the strange ghost to his peers, so he wasn't inclined to add some made up story explaining how he got thrashed. At least Assassin was able to make her rifle disappear, so she needn't to threaten anyone with it.

 _I don't see anyone._

Instead the smell of canned ravioli reached his nose.

"Ah, I remember. It's Hendrik's turn with cooking today", he whispered to Assassin.

They then entered as silently as possible. He was sure she could have used her spirit mode to become even more invisible, but the fact that she didn't made it obvious to him that she didn't took his plan seriously. She probably would have enjoyed getting caught like this. Luckily the bathroom was just opposite the entrance, so they were able to easily slip through so that Simon was able to lock the door behind them. Sighing Simon went to empty the cupboard in order to find the medical kit. After he found it, he got rid of the sorry remains of his shirt and went to the faucet to wash the scratches on his arms. It burned hellishly and the water turned deep red when it came in contact with the wound. But he knew he had to drown any bacteria before putting on the bandages. They say even cat scratches can cause horrible infections, so he was not eager to learn what scratches from magical lions from hell can do to him if left unattended.

"Can I help with anything?", Assassin asked, helplessly watching him while leaning on the door.

"Only if one of your crazy superpowers can heal me spontaneously", he replied grimacing.

She shook her had, looking as miserable as if it were her wounds.

"At least I'm relieved your injuries healed as quickly as they did", Simon said while changing the arm he held under the stream of water.

"Now that you mention it, I'm afraid they didn't. Not really."

"What are you saying? You looked worse off than I do and now you seem perfectly fine."

"From outside appearance, yes. But I'm afraid what you see is only the visible representation of the vessel used to store a Heroic Spirit. You see, I'm actually just a blob of magical energy."

"Yeah right, the ghost thing...", Simon said unsure.

"Indeed, the ghost thing. So that means the injuries that magical beast caused were just the visible representation of a large chunk of mana it ripped off me. I'm physically alright, but it did reduce my combat ability a bit."

"So you disappear if you take too many punches?", he guessed.

"Yes... or if I deal too many myself. My bullets cost mana too. But you can be glad that I'm an unusually cost efficient representative of my kind. We shouldn't get any problems, even with you unable to provide much mana."

Simon sighed again while he was busy bandaging himself. She already told him on their way back home that he was supposed to be some kind of sorcerer. No, she even went so far to say that he was a sorcerer since he was able to supply her with a tiny amount of mana. He just never knew before and thus was never trained any actual magic.

 _I should try get my hands on some 'Beginner's Guide to Healing Magic' textbook. Could make my future job much easier I guess._

After he had finished with his arms, the legs were next. His jeans were pretty much ruined as well. He glanced a bit unsure at Assassin who was still silently watching him.

"You don't have to stay here, you know. You can go explore the apartment in your spirit form while I fix myself up", he said sheepishly.

The proposal seemed to have amused her very much since she gave him a vicious smile.

"Are you shy now? Seriously, I've seen men in more inappropriate situations than you right now... A few bruises on a bare leg are nothing. And what if some man-eating hawk comes crashing through that window behind you? Who's going to save you then?"

"What kind of ghost are you?", he asked back, rolling his eyes.

Deciding to not give her any more satisfaction, he grudgingly put off his trousers and seated himself at the edge of the bathtub, starting to wash the scratches on his lower legs too.

 _I'm lucky if I got no tissue into the wounds. An infection is the last thing I need._

As soon as he was finished bandaging himself, he hastily put on the remains of his clothes so he was able to retreat to his room. Luckily, both of them didn't meet anyone on the way there. He saw Hendrik being busy in the kitchen and Alexandra was nowhere to be seen, so he assumed she was just inside her room either learning or getting distracted by the internet while trying to learn. Thus he was able to sneak into his room undetected, changed his clothes and saw to it that he looked as if nothing happened. And not as if he got mauled by a pack of man-eating beasts.

"Well then, let's introduce you to the others...", he finally declared.

"Are you sure? You don't seem that eager", Assassin asked.

"I am, I am... I won't tell them about this war of yours, but if we have to work together, I can't hide that for long. So it is the best they learn to know you a bit."

That said, he guided her to the kitchen where Hendrik was still finishing dinner.

"Hi there!", he called out innocently.

"Simon? Already back?", Hendrik replied without looking back. "Was it really that awful?"

"You have no idea...", he grumbled. "So you and Alexandra decided to eat without us?"

"We would have left something for you two, but you certainly don't expect us to wait into the night for you."

He laughed, turning around and raised his eyebrows when he realized that the person next to Simon wasn't Tobias.

"Huh, we have a guest? Good evening."

"I wish you a good evening as well. I'm Roza", she said, shaking his hand with a smirk.

"It's a pleasure, I am Hendrik."

"Is it so bad if I invited her to eat with us?", Simon asked, halfway through the sentence realizing that he hadn't asked an important question before deciding that.

He turned back to Assassin.

"You do eat, don't you?", he said, much too suspicious for his liking.

"I do, don't worry", she laughed.

"Huh... and what's with Tobias?", Hendrik said worrying. "I haven't counted on us being five people."

"Don't worry. Whatever he expected from that dumb party, he seemed successful when I last saw him. I don't think we have to expect him before tomorrow morning", Simon explained, barely containing a groan.

"Then it is decided", a cheerful voice behind them declared.

Simon whirled around in confusion. Alexandra had sneaked up on them in the meantime and he had no idea how long she stood there. She had a broad smile on her face when she greeted Roza and she returned that smile with her own.

"Being sure that Simon was too stuck up to properly do it, I now officially greet you in our little commune. Take a seat, while we prepare everything."

"I am the intruder here, it would be impolite to not help you out", Roza replied cheerfully.

"Oh no, you're our guest and we will show ourselves from our best side."

In the meantime, Hendrik gathered the dishes from the cupboard and pulled Simon to him with a conspicuous look on his face.

"Let's get it over with before they finish this judo of theirs."

"Agreed", Simon replied courtly.

A few minutes later they all sat together at the dinner table. Their food was simple, but Roza praised it anyway. Simon was not quite sure if she was just overly polite, since it only caused Hendrik to begrudgingly explain the canned origin of his ingredients, or if she just suppressed the urge to tell a horrifying story about Soviet war rations. Her mood seemed as bright as ever, so he thought the first option to be more likely.

"So, Roza, you've met Simon on that party, did you?", Alexandra asked, not even bothering to hide her interest on the fact itself. "I didn't know it was a costume party."

"Well, it wasn't a costume party", Simon said in her stead and Roza took the cue to look properly embarrassed.

"As it seems, I didn't know either. Silly me", she said.

"I see", Alexandra stated with a frown. "Where do you live? In the city or here at Einzbern?"

Assassin struggled a bit thinking about an appropriate answer. Simon gulped.

"Here I guess", she finally said.

"You guess?"

"She's from Russia", Simon explained.

"Ah, an exchange student? So you are in the Erasmus program? I would have never realized, your German is excellent."

"I give my best", Assassin said, still smiling but visibly irritated about the attention she got at the table.

"So where are you from exactly? Moscow?"

"Russia is a bit larger than that", she said mockingly. "I'm from a tiny village near Arkhangelsk and went to study there too."

"I'm sorry, but to be honest, I've never heard of that city."

"That's not your fault, really. The university there was still small when I was there the last time. And apart from the historical harbour to the Arctic Ocean, it is not very well known, really."

Simon was relieved about how it all turned out. So far their story was surprisingly coherent. As long as Roza kept talking, there was still a way to explain her being here without magic or time travel or something.

"And what is your subject there?", Alexandra continued to ask.

 _If I had known she would be that persistent, we should have worked out a whole new biography beforehand..._

"Uh... The university at Arkhangelsk is mostly focused on technical studies. But I prefer to study pedagogics."

"So you mean you want to educate children? Like Hendrik?"

"You study something like this?", Assassin asked eagerly.

"Oh yeah...", Hendrik said, still chewing. "I want to become teacher for Maths and Physics."

"Impressive. I take it you are all students. What do you do, Alexandra?"

"Computer Science at the city. It's difficult, but the chances in business are really good in this day and age."

"I see. What is it all about?"

Simon allowed himself to smile. Now everyone talked about their respective subjects and how studying worked for them. He was glad to see Roza sitting there, just listening to their stories with honest interest. They passed the whole dinner like that and even a bit more after they finished which was unusual since they normally dispersed soon thereafter, everyone doing what they planned for the rest of the evening.

"Look how late it is", Hendrik finally stated.

It was shortly after eleven.

"You are staying overnight with Simon then, Roza?", Alexandra asked, suddenly a vicious smile on her face.

"Yes I do", she nodded happily, obviously not realizing what she said.

"No, she doesn't", Simon screeched.

Alexandra frowned at that, her smile faltering.

"I don't think I understand", she stated, narrowing her eyes on Simon.

"There is nothing else to understand. She just wanted to learn to know everyone."

He looked at Roza who seemed as confused as Alexandra, much to his dismay.

"You said you could disappear afterwards", he reminded her in a half whisper that caused Alexandra to shoot an incredulous look at him.

"Oh right, I did", Assassin replied.

Simon then decided to make his goodbyes as short as possible in order to avoid any more inappropriate assumptions. He led Roza to the door, Alexandra following them the whole time.

"Well then, I wish you goodnight then. We'll see us tomorrow", he said nervously.

"I guess we do", she replied, not quite as much into the act as before.

"Don't you want to take her home?", Alexandra interjected. "It's late and the town is not as safe as it used to be."

"She doesn't have it very far", he explained.

"Still..."

"Oh she can take care of herself, trust me", Simon groaned, closing the door.

His fellow student awaited him with a menacing glare when he turned around.

"What was that?", she asked him incredulous.

"What was what?", he asked back.

He didn't feel like explaining himself. His whole body ached and halfway through the dinner he was overcome by a strange exhaustion. Right now he just wanted to throw himself into his bed, trying to forget anything that had happened.

"Everything!", Alexandra stated, only a small step away from shouting. "You acted like a jerk."

"I don't think so...", he grumbled.

"She was nice and everything went fine and then you threw her out. What's wrong with you?"

"I didn't, I-", he stopped himself from coming up with some kind of half-hearted excuse.

Of course it must have looked to onlookers as if he threw her out. But he couldn't really expect her to believe even if he told her she was a ghost that likely returned to the apartment in her spirit form the second he closed the door. Simon had no intention of looking around in that moment, but he was sure she was lurking somewhere around watching how Alexandra chewed him out.

"How is it your business anyway?", he grumbled instead.

"Well, I liked her. You bringing a girl home is pretty much the most normal thing I've ever seen you doing. And you ruined it. I'd question her sanity if she ever returns."

"As I said: What business is it to you? Nothing I say, so excuse me... it was a hard day and I want to go to bed..."

He evaded her blocking his way and went to his room without any further words. After he arrived there, he closed and locked his door, only to lean his back against it and sit down with a sigh. Roza rematerialized in front of him a second later, her arms crossed.

"She was right, you were not very nice", she chided him playfully.

Simon folded his hands in front of his face as if praying:

"I'm deeply sorry if I hurt your feelings."

"I hope you are, but why exactly such an overreaction? You nearly blew our cover with that."

Before he responded, he remembered that he still had things to arrange before going to sleep. So he went to the wardrobe and searched for fresh bed sheets, blankets and all. In the midst of all he also found a sleeping bag he had bought a while ago for a camping trip in his first semester. He answered while still rummaging in there.

"The discussion just went into a direction I didn't like. You simply have to agree that I couldn't have went on without countering the assumptions Alexandra made."

"But I don't agree. What was so bad about it?", she asked innocently.

Simon had to laugh while he was busy making the bed.

"Well... she assumed we were going to, you know..."

"She assumed I'm some foreign girl you successfully flirted with at a party. And?", Roza summed up, grinning as if it was the funniest prank ever.

"I can't believe you take it so lightly. And I can't believe I have to tell you how bad this looks", Simon said, trying not to make it sound like whining. "Aren't you supposed to be from a generation where people were more conservative about stuff like this?"

She laughed out loud, at least before she must have realized that they weren't alone in the apartment, so instead she desperately suppressed her amusement about his silly behaviour.

"Maybe you're a bit right about my time in general, but I'm not a medieval princess, you know. I have no trouble to use that as a cover. It is as good a story as anything else."

"Probably. Probably not", Simon sighed, having finished his work.

He now looked at his freshly made bed, looking as properly as in any hotel. Thereafter Simon proceeded to roll out his sleeping bag on the floor next to it. Halfway through it, he stopped mid-movement.

"Damn, our first encounter must have thoroughly wrecked me. I can't think straight."

"What now?", Assassin asked with a frown.

"I really should ask you before I make assumptions myself", he pointed at the bed. "Do you need sleep or not?"

Roza thought about this a bit.

"Well... need is maybe too strong a word. But it doesn't hurt a Heroic Spirit."

"I can't believe it...", Simon said, shaking his head. "What kind of crappy ghost needs to eat and sleep?"

"One who has to keep a functioning physical body working...", she replied. "It's all about gaining mana or keeping my mana drain low. And as I said before, the battle did cost me a few of my reserves."

Simon was still shaking his head, chuckling about the absurdity of her words. This conflict he was dragged into was going to get stranger every minute. He then proceeded to press his aching body into the sleeping bag, grimacing every time his numerous bruises touched the ground.

"I'm sure some of my fellow Masters went into battle carrying a calculator."

"It wouldn't surprise me!", Roza said, looking down on him while sitting on his bed. "By the way, what exactly are you doing down there?"

"What does it look like? I try to get some sleep."

"You have a bed...", she pointed out with a frown.

"Well, I really can't let you sleep on the ground as a guest... and the sofa is out of the question with Alexandra and Hendrik still in the living room."

Roza tilted her head while looking at him.

"I appreciate the sudden burst of chivalry, but I already told you, I'm not picky. Heck, me having a solid roof above my head is much of an improvement to my last sleeping places. I'm the intruder, so just give me the sleeping bag."

Simon answered by pushing himself deeper into the fabric. He saw her arguing with Alexandra and had no interest into getting into a deadlock of politeness with her as well.

"I'm taking the bag. You can take the ground as well if you are so eager to do so. But it'll be a shame if the bed stays empty after I prepared it for you."

He then reached up to the standing light next to him and pushed the button to let the room get swallowed by darkness again.

 _Madness_ , he thought. _In what kind of crazy world do I live after all?_

Wordlessly grumbling, he was soon overcome by his exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep. A sleep accompanied by strange dreams...

 **Arkhangelsk, 1941**

There was soft voice singing what seemed like a simple children's song with a silly text, the voice belonged to a sixteen years old Roza Shanina. It was the scene of a large room full of warm colours. Yellow, blue and red. The walls were decorated with children's paintings and a single row was designated only to fancifully decorated Cyrillic letters with crude animals and items drawn next to them. The room was in wild disarray with chairs and wooden toys strewn across it. But it seemed as if the toys were all but forgotten since all the little kids had gathered around the young girl who sat in the middle of everything, still singing her song in a playful way. She scrambled the words and overacted a bit to tease her tiny listeners, but it was still an unusually peaceful view.

"Now it's your turn, show me how good you all practiced in the meantime", Roza said after she was finished.

She then motivated the children to sing along with her to the tune of another song. They made an awful mess of it, but she still cheered them on and praised them for every note they hit. They started a third song when the picture began to fade again and the scene in the kindergarten disappeared. It was still possible to hear them singing softly even after their faces were impossible to see.

The song was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. Roza was not in the kindergarten she worked for anymore. She was sitting on the floor of her college dormitory, her room mate Anna sitting next her. Anna covered her ears and shivered in fear while Roza was listening closely to what was happening outside. Another explosion occurred and this one was close. But it was the horrible shrieking noise the enemy bombers did when diving down into Arkhangelsk what was really prevalent. It drowned every single other noise except the bangs of their deathly load when they hit their targets. Their targets and anything else that was in their vicinity. Roza was twitching nervously. But it wasn't fear. It was restlessness.

"I can't stay here", she said suddenly.

"What are you saying?", Anna asked.

Roza stood up and while Anna looked at her pleadingly, she didn't try to hold her back.

"Sorry, but I simply can't stand staying here to wait for them murdering us. I... I just feel useless like this."

She exited the apartment, dashed down the stairs and soon stepped onto the street. It was a ghostly view. All the streets were empty, all windows closed and all houses locked. She had never seen the street, no, the city she lived in so devoid of life. It felt depressing and sad. It was not how a place people live in has to look like. And it was grey. She realised only then the tiny flocks of ashes which were dancing around her feet, whirled around by the tiny gusts of wind which were still there. She looked up. The warning sirens were howling, the shrieking of the enemy was drowning it all and thick grey pillars of smoke rose into the evening sky from the direction of the harbour.

Dread filled her heart. She could hear the Germans attacking, she could hear the explosions of the bombs they dropped onto the city she loved so much. She saw the smoke rising from what she dreaded to be the homes of her friends. But she never saw a single plane. It was an invisible enemy to her in that very moment. She knew he was there, but she felt utter helplessness against it.

 _It was this day I learned what terror was. It isn't the enemy storming at you with a knife in hand. If you see him coming, you can try to defend yourself and... most of all... you see that the enemy is human... and as mortal as you are. This was different. An invisible enemy causes terror because you have no sure way to defend yourself. He could be too strong to defeat or too numerous to hide yourself from. Being unsure is the greatest enemy. It makes you feel useless. And I hate being useless more than anything else._

After overcoming the initial dread, she ran towards the harbour where the smoke was the thickest. It was the target of the Germans after all. She found a number of brave townspeople relentlessly working against the flames. They had assembled the equipment of the fire department, also some oldfashioned coal-fuelled water pumps and some even came just with buckets of water, that desperate they were. At this point the screeching of the bombers had died down, they had retreated. She saw her older brother Fyodor among the helpers and quickly decided to run up to him. He was so focused on carrying the equipment for fire extinguishing that he only recognized his sister when she stood directly next to him.

"Roza?", he said aghast. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll help out. Where do you need me?"

"Nowhere, go home. It's still not safe out here."

"You know you won't stop me", she said defiantly and Fyodor sighed.

It was this moment the grizzled old leader of the city militia stepped to them.

"Why did you stop?", he growled.

"She-", Fyodor began to defend himself, but Roza didn't let him.

"I just asked where I should help out."

"We need all hands to extinguish the fire at the storehouse number four over there. Grab a bucket of water if you have to, but move!", he ordered curtly.

Roza nodded, a small smile flickering up on her face, running towards the building he pointed at.

 _We were not able to save every building the Germans hit that day, but we saved enough of the harbour so it continued to work as a safe haven for allied supply vessels. I helped myself with all my strength and even got an appreciative smile from the militia leader at the end of the day. He was known as a strict man who rarely got along with anyone, but after we did all we were able to do, he went straight to me to ask if I wanted to help out keeping vigil against future raids. I happily agreed. It meant I could do something to make a difference._

The next days Roza sat on the top of one of the taller buildings at the edge of the city, constantly staring at the horizon until her eyes went watery. She looked tired, but she did her duty with fierce stubbornness. And then they came. There was no sound to hear yet, but there were numerous black dots at the horizon. Roza jumped to the trigger and let the sirens howl so that the people in the city were able to run into the designated shelters. Before she went on her way to do so herself, she hesitated and looked up, watching at the rapidly advancing planes with awe.

 _When the Germans arrived the next time, I was the first to see them. And when I did, the first words which went through my mind were: There you are! Now I see you! And just by seeing the planes come crashing through the sky, they were not able to scare me again. Because I knew how the enemy looked like._

 _They bombed the city several times thereafter, but then it all abruptly stopped. The frontline moved away from Arkhangelsk and the fascists seemed to have given up the idea to take our harbour out. Peace returned to us, but never normality. I tried to live a normal life again... I continued to work at the kindergarten to pay my tuition fees and studied for school in the afternoons, looking forward to my final exams. But nothing was the same. Even the children were quieter. They had seen things no kid their age should ever experience. They'd seen war._

Roza opened the door of her dormitory after a long and tiring day, throwing her bag to the ground the moment she stepped into it. But her mood changed immediately. Anna sat at the dinner table, a grim expression on her face and she was not alone. A young man sat opposite of her and two steaming cups of tea between them.

"Fyodor?", she called out in confusion.

He turned to her, his expression even more miserable than Anna's.

 _He rarely visited me after I moved out of his home, so I knew immediately it was important if he came over. Fyodor was my only connection to home in Arkhangelsk. My parents were against me going to college, but they were not able to stop me when I just ran away, leaving our little farm and marching straight across the tundra to the next railroad station. Fyodor took me in after my arrival at the city._

"What is it?", she asked after he hesitated too long with his reply.

"I... it's", he took out a letter from the inside of his jacket and put it on the edge of the table.

Roza slowly stepped closer, watching how both of them were squirming with dread. Without any further word, she took the letter and read. It was written by her mother.

"I'm so sorry", Anna said softly before she was even only halfway through it.

After she had finished reading, she put it back onto the table, not being able to look at it again.

"So they got Mikhail", she said plainly.

"You don't have to hold back. You are here among friends", her brother said miserably.

She only shook her head and left for her room, leaving both of them behind. There she curled herself up onto her bed and rested her head on her arms.

 _I never cried then... My brother would have laughed at me if I did. I just saw the pictures of him flashing up before my eyes and cursed how unfair it was. He fought and died at Stalingrad while I was sitting at home thinking about exams. I felt horrible for it, because I wasn't able to do anything. If I had been there, if I had fought alongside him a rifle in my hands... I could have made a difference. Like I did when the frontline was right here at Arkhangelsk. Maybe I could have been able to save him. But not like this. It was the moment I decided that there was only one thing I could do to not feel useless again. I wrote a letter to the commissariat, volunteering for the army. Sadly, whoever read my application, felt otherwise. They never called me to arms. So I wrote again. And again. I thought if I just continued to pester them, they would send me to Stalingrad just to get rid of me. But they ignored me with the same stubbornness I had with writing my applications. After I graduated from college, I thought it was time for a more direct approach..._

It was a simple bureau Roza had found herself in. A wooden desk crammed with little towers of documents, a soviet flag to the right and a portrait of Stalin above it all. The officer responsible for the sniper academy was a middle aged man with a receding hairline who sat there, watching her with a disapproving look. Roza, who was just waved into the room by the secretary, immediately stood tight as if arrived for muster.

"You don't have to stand attention, Miss Shanina. You are not part of the military hierarchy", he said with a frown.

"Well, Sir, I came specifically to ask why. Did my applications gave a reason to doubt my sincerity?"

"It is not like that... As everyone can see, you are a splendid member of the communist state and your records in the Komsomol are without a taint."

"If you trust me as a person, you must distrust my abilities. If you do, I have to inform you that I trained at a shooting range in my free time to hone my skills", she said matter-of-factly.

"Very praiseworthy...", the man grumbled.

"So why..."

The man sighed.

"You are a young girl, you have your whole life in front of you. Even after reading your pleading words, I can't help but ask whether you are completely sure this path you want to follow is what you really want for your future. War is an ugly business. You could die."

Roza's eyes narrowed.

"So it is because I am a girl?"

The man gulped.

"Social equality is one of the core pillars of communist society. Of course we do not judge men and women differently."

"So you are saying you have a talk like this with every brave boy who volunteers his life to defend the motherland against the fascists?", she cocked her head. "Your recruitment rates must look horrible."

Now the man raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Miss... there is a difference between things you have the right to do and things you have to do."

"I know this difference very well", she replied, countering his serious stare with her own. "And I know fighting for my country is something I simply have to do. I couldn't stand living in a future knowing others had to sacrifice themselves for it while I sat back home and did nothing."

The man folded his hands on the desk, seemingly thinking about her words.

"I see. Then I think you should return to that uptight stance you had before when you enter my bureau the next time. Because you'll be a member of this academy then."

Roza smiled from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Sir. I knew you'd understand."

 _So it was decided. I got trained as a sniper and war became my future... and the rest of my life. Of course I didn't know that at the time, but I was ready to sacrifice myself. If it meant that my death got a meaning, I would have embraced it._

Gunshots were ringing in short intervals. Numerous female snipers stood at the shooting range, focused on their wooden targets. Roza was among them, carefully laying on her aim... and hitting the target in quick succession how she was known to do it. After emptying her magazine, she put the hot rifle to the side and silently watched how her comrades fared. Only a short while later, two other women arrived, greeting her with warm smiles.

 _Of course I was not the only brave fool who had successfully pressured the commander. Sasha and Kalya were as stubborn as I was. Since we shared the same ominous power which dragged us towards the battlefield, it was pretty much love at first sight. We were inseparable._

"Ah Roza, the commander wanted to talk with you about something", Kalya told her.

"Now? So shortly before we set out to the front?"

"It's his last chance to see your pretty face I guess", Sasha laughed.

Roza rolled her eyes and went to his bureau. As it happened, it didn't look any different as the last time she had visited it. And this time, she remembered to stand attention, her arms folded behind her back.

"You wanted to speak to me, Sir?"

"Oh yes, I do, sergeant. It is about your transfer to the troops. I wanted to offer you the alternative of staying."

She raised her eyebrows.

"This discussion again?"

The man laughed heartily.

"No, not at all. You proved me wrong a thousand times over. You're diligence is exemplary and your scores are at the top of your class. But this is exactly the reason why I want to have you here at the academy. It would be a waste to send you into the bloody trenches. I want you as an instructor, training the next bunch to become as good as you."

"But... You gave me a commanding position in my platoon. I can't just stay behind while they go off to fight."

"You will fight. In your own way. Preparing our troops is as important a job as anything else. If you successfully teach your skills, you'll help them survive."

 _He was trying to tempt me, this is what I now know. He was right, if I took care to prepare them for survival, I was of use to them and still out of harms way. But it meant to let go of Sasha and Karya. And to not help my remaining brothers in their fight. Sergei and Pavel... If I wanted to save them, I had to go out and fight myself. With a rifle, not with a desk._

"I'm sorry, Sir. There are others who would appreciate such a position more than me. My place is at the side of my comrades."

"Very well. I wish you good luck then. I'm disappointed, but I will find someone else. You are dismissed, sergeant."

 _I returned to the others, saying it was nothing. Somehow I knew they wouldn't understand if I told them what I refused. The next day a convoy of trucks halted in front of the academy. We were carried off to war..._

Somewhere in the distance a machine gun was rattling, spewing deadly bullets into the battlefield. Roza and her comrades in arms sat inside a muddy trench. Except for the occasional gunshot and aforementioned machine gun, it was a waiting game they played. She then decided to crouch to some kind of ramp they dug into the trench. It was as good a cover as anything. She lay on her rifle and watched the enemy territory through her scope. It was a small city wrecked by artillery shells they had encircled. There was not a single house which didn't look as if some terrible giant had stepped onto it. Gaping holes were everywhere. And somewhere among the rubble, the enemy was lurking.

 _Staring into the distance like this for hours, watching out for any sign of movement... it reminded me strangely to the days on the rooftop in Arkhangelsk, keeping vigil. Even my first thought when a head appeared amidst the ruined city was the same: I see you._

She corrected her angle to calculate the wind into her firing angle. Without any hesitation, she pulled the trigger. A single gunshot rang through the field. The recoil let her view slip for a short time, but she adjusted fast enough to see the head tumbling back down. She imagined there was no surprise in the man's expression. No shock. He just looked like a lifeless doll where someone had pulled the strings. Roza's feet gave way and she slithered down into the trench, her face pale and goose bumps covering her skin.

"I've killed a man", she said more to herself than to anyone in her vicinity.

Several of the women from her unit ran up to her, squeezing her shoulder and speaking supportive words. She never heard any of them, except one sentence.

"Don't look like that! It wasn't a man, it was a fascist you finished off!", one of them cheered her on.

"I know", she only said. "I know."

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Rays of sunshine broke through the windows and made Simon's eyes stir. He woke up, sweating like hell. When he closed his eyes, he was still able to hear the shrieking noise of the bombers and it send shivers through his spine.

 _Is this how war sounds?_

He felt horrible. His body was still sore as he pushed himself up, but it was the memory of the dream which caused this remaining sense of dread. Gunfire, the smell of smoke, the force of the recoil.

 _No, it was not a dream. It was her past. It really happened._

Simon had no idea why he was so sure about it, he only knew he was able to recall those scenes as clearly as if he was there himself. War. Bombing raids. And in the midst of all a girl who wanted to make herself useful by staining her hands with blood. He rubbed his temples thinking about it all, before he went up and gathered his clothing for the day. Roza was not here anymore. But the bed which was freshly made the day before seemed now in disarray, so he assumed she used it as intended. Simon then looked out of the window, the sun stood high.

 _How late is it already?_

She must have given up on him waking up and left in impatience. He had no idea where he should search for her, but he was sure she'd show up somehow. He then proceeded to leave his room, entering the living room where everyone (save for Tobias) was gathered at the dinner table. They were chatting amiably, Alexandra's laughter was ringing through the apartment.

"Good morning everyone", he greeted them.

"Morning", said Hendrik.

"Hello there", said Alexandra.

"Good morning, Simon", said Roza.

Simon stopped in the midst of movement. He blinked at them in confusion. He hadn't expected to find her here with his room mates.

"You really got us fooled, yesterday", Alexandra grinned knowingly. "I surely hadn't expected her to have snuck back in when we haven't looked."

"Has she?", he just said.

"Of course I have, silly. You wouldn't really send me home after you invited me like this", Roza laughed, but before it got any more embarrassing, she turned back to Alexandra. "But now you have to tell me about this cinema you wanted to visit. I loved the movies in the two places we had in Arkhangelsk, but they surely are nothing compared to the quality you have."

"Don't be silly, it is completely ordinary, really. But if you like we could go there after I have finished my last exam. What kind of movies do you like most?"

Simon thought he would be angry for her ignoring his request to make them believe she stayed at her home. But he found himself just leaning into the doorframe, silently watching how she ate her breakfast and interacted with his friends, having a completely normal conversation. She talked about her interests, she began to plan about things she wanted to see. Simon smiled. There was no way he could be angry. She was just enjoying herself like any normal girl her age would do. He now knew her story and he was glad that just for the moment she was able to regain some of the peace and happiness which was forcefully ripped from her life before.

* * *

Well then... now to you fans of Fate out there who are reading my story. You all love your Stat Sheets, don't you? Since Roza actually used her Noble Phantasm in her first chapter, I don't have to hold back any more, here is the character sheet of Assassin:

 **Class:** Assassin

 **Identity:** Roza Shanina

 **Alignment:** True Neutral

 **Strength:** E

 **Endurance:** E

 **Agility:** D

 **Mana:** E

 **Luck:** B

 **Noble Phantasm:** E

* * *

 **Class Skills:**

 **Presence Concealment:** C

* * *

 **Personal Skills:**

 **Eye of the Mind (True):** B

 **Presence Detection:** C

 **Clairvoyance:** D

* * *

 **Noble Phantasms:**

 **Mosin-Nagant Model 1891/30 with PU scope (Anti-Unit):** D

Since modern weaponry is anathema to the world of magic and legends, each bullet is completely unaffected by magical defences. As such, it can penetrate every Servant's armor as well as any kind of magical force field unhindered. This terrifying ability is somewhat balanced by its pathetic damage output though, since the strength of Noble Phantasms has to grow with its age.

* * *

And here comes a unique little feature I thought up for this story. Since music is a great way to convey emotion I tried to find theme songs for every single historical character who got summoned into the present. Rozas theme song was very difficult to find. At the end I got three different ones. Two of them were from the soundtrack of the cancelled "East vs. West" videogame. Both were Soviet-themed, one with a male chorus and one with some passages I got a strong Hans Zimmer vibe from. But they hadn't really anything to do with Roza. Then I stumbled about this... it's a modern rendition of "Oh my mists", a soviet war song written in 1943 about guerilla fighting. And it was Rozas favourite war song. Only by knowing that the real Roza Shanina knew those lyrics and used to sing them while cleaning her rifle gives me chills...

 **Character Theme:**

Youtube: watch?v=EAsb04IVjK0


	6. Chapter 5 - Kai

I'm not exactly sure how my chapters keep getting longer... I hope it won't be much of a surprise if you ever get one that is suddenly much shorter.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Kai

 **Men-nefer, 1287BC**

The clash of wood hitting wood rang through the hall. The place had a high ceiling supported by thick columns and stone walls. In the middle of the room was a large basin filled with soft sand where a very young boy and an older man were seemingly trying to kill each other with long wooden sticks. The boy with the short reddish hair, who wore nothing more than a simple white loincloth, looked badly bruised. He was heavily panting and had serious trouble to counter the blows with the simple rectangular shield he carried. It sounded like thunder every time the man stabbed at him and hit his only defence. After several such attempts, the old man retreated to the border of the basin, shaking his head chidingly.

"Not like this, young prince. You only exhaust yourself if you try to take each of my attacks head on. Deflect them. Let them scrape your shield and guide them into empty air. Only then you can use my strength against me."

The boy wasn't really able to answer, he looked glad enough to be allowed to breath.

"Fine then. Then let me show it to you", the older man went back to the weapon stand behind him, grabbing a wooden shield of the same type the boy wore. "Attack me!"

The boy eyed him suspiciously. He then decided to let go of his doubts and attacked. In contrast to the boy before, the man held his shield angled. Every single thrust with the boy's wooden staff glided off the older mans shield. It was a frustrating affair and the boy seemed to never even touch him.

"I think I understand", he said, too exhausted to continue his onslaught.

"You will have to fight opponents who are stronger or faster or both. The only difference you can make is by cleverly using the strengths you have and by not overexerting yourself."

They made a short break before the older man put his shield away and gave the boy the sign to continue.

 _Amenemhet was the master-at-arms in the city of Men-nefer. A grizzled old warrior, who served the mighty king Menmaatre in numerous campaigns. Fighting was his life, but after countless slain foes, he found his greatest challenge in the martial education of Menmaatres eldest living son and heir. He was a truly brave and admirable man, especially considering how vicious young people can get when after weeks of thrashing they finally find an opening to exploit._

The boy lunged forward, victory in his eyes, but the older man avoided his attack swiftly and knocked him off his feet with a short motion of his own foot. He laughed out loud.

 _Sadly, such an opportunity for the young son of Ra rarely turned out to be not a ruse._

"Now this was a good move. Unexpected, yes, but sadly not enough yet", the man explained with a softer smile.

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?", the boy complained, but there was no anger in his eyes.

"Hey, let an old man have his pleasures, as long as he has them. Where else do you get to beat up royalty and get away with it?"

"But you do know you are paid for teaching me after all", the boy said, an amused smile creeping up across his face.

"Well, as long as you don't make the same mistake twice, I regard my job as done."

The boy chuckled with him. But then the eyes of Amenemhet caught something behind him which caused him to return to his serious expression.

"Now back onto your feet, young prince. You'll have to show me one last time all you've got."

The prince frowned, but obeyed with a nod. He scrambled to his feet and faced his opponent again. This time Amenemhet seemed more forgiving and less inclined to make him suffer for his mistakes. In fact, he missed to exploit several opportunities to give the boy more time to adjust and to make his own moves. After several minutes of concentrated fighting, the old master gave him the sign to stop.

"This was it for today, my prince. Give yourself a rest after you've spoken to your lord father."

The boy reacted startled and turned around, looking at the point Amenemhet had stared shortly before. And there he was. Menmaatre himself, in all his royal regalia and the double-crown of the two countries on his head. He was standing at the edge of the basin, meeting the eyes of his son with a rather indifferent look. And it was not only him. On a bench behind him, the queen Tuya sat, smirking at her son approvingly. The boy nodded to her, replying with a smile of his own, while stepping to his father.

 _The young son of Ra immediately knew that the arrival of his father meant... something. It was unusual for him to show up at his martial exercises. While Menmaatre was a formidable warrior himself, he trusted Amenemhet to oversee the prince's training. And a high-ranking scribe called Dschehuti-Nefer was responsible for teaching him maths, history and writing. The only part of the education of the son of Ra the king took upon himself, was teaching him the religious ceremonies and the political workings of the numerous rivalling cults in the empire. The prince was sure though that he would have delegated this job to a priest too. At least if there had been one he trusted enough to not follow his own agenda._

"Father", the boy bowed before him.

"The king approves of your progress, Ramesses", Menmaatre declared without any further greeting. "If you feel not too exhausted to the challenge, the king would also like to see your skill with the bow."

"It would please me, father", Ramesses replied.

He then left the basin and walked to the small archery range nearby. The targets consisted of several wooden poles arranged in different distances to the point were the archer had to stand. Due to their round shape, it was crucial to hit their centre to make the arrow stuck, otherwise it would just scrape them and fly off into the wall of raffia behind them. Amenemhet already waited there, handing the prince a plain wooden bow and a quiver with arrows on a belt he hung around his hip. Ramesses ignored the pain in his sore arms, drew his bow with all his strength and let loose. The arrow crashed into the pole closest to him and stayed stuck deeply. The prince inhaled before he took the next arrow, adjusted his aim and struck the next target. And the next. With every target he became faster, even if they were further away and more difficult to hit. But he never failed. He struck each of them with great precision. He turned around, watching how his father eyed his fired arrows with an unreadable expression.

"You are ready", Menmaatre finally said. "You will set out with the king on the morrow."

Ramesses stared back in confusion.

"We are going to travel? Where?"

"The king and the son of Ra will go to the borders of the realm and beyond. The king has declared to take back what was once part of the empire, ages ago, but was lost due to neglect. Now that the empire has regained its former strength, it is time to take its outermost colonies back and let them share in the prosperity of Kemet."

 _War. He implied it without saying it. He wanted to take the son of Ra with him to war. The prince had seen him going off to his campaigns numerous times, always returning in glorious triumph. But it was the first time he was allowed to accompany him._

Shortly thereafter, the young prince, having changed into a more casual white tunic, wandered through the dark corridors of the palace, looking for a certain door. When he found it, he knocked softly at it.

"Come in", a girl's voice called out.

Ramesses entered and found his young wife playing Senet with one of the servant girls. She wore a white dress, an impressive golden necklace around her neck and her beautiful long black hair was adorned with a golden crown in the shape of a falcon spreading his wings. The girl opposite of her turned around, realized who entered and hastily left the chair to bow to him.

"Excuse me my presence, my prince", she said and hurried to the door.

"But-... you don't have to... stop... your game...", he said rather irritated about her flustered reaction, but she had already left.

He turned to Nefertari and raised his eyebrows.

"What was that?", he asked baffled.

"Well, she probably didn't expect you of all people to come in here at this time", Nefertari said, grimacing. "You ruined our game!"

"I knocked", he defended himself with an exaggeratedly helpless expression.

"It could also have something to do with the fact that she was supposed to help in the kitchen until I dragged her off because I've heard from the other servants how good she is at the game..."

"Sounds more like you, always making trouble for the servants", he commented with a grin.

Ramesses then threw himself onto her soft bed, sighing about how comfortable it felt and how it eased the pain of his bruises. Nefertari left the table with the game and leaned over him.

"Still... you know you don't have to knock to enter my room, don't you?", she said teasingly.

"What? Since when? And I always thought I get beaten if I do..."

"You don't need me for that, I think your father pays someone to do that for me."

She reinforced her answer by poking with her finger into one of the most visible purple areas of his arm.

"Ouch... stop it!", he complained half-heartedly. "If you are bored, I gladly join your game, but hurting me won't help persuading me."

"So you think you can beat me?", the girl said, hovering with her smiling face directly above his.

"Of course I can, I'm the prince!"

"That's a title, not a skill", she chided him.

"Your prince, I meant...", he said instead with a knowing smile, pushing his head up in an attempt to kiss her.

But instead of allowing it, Nefertari evaded and shoved him back by putting both her hands down on his chest, painfully reminding him of the bruises he got there.

"Ow...", he winced. "Is that the way you treat your poor husband?"

"You stink. Like a sweating horse even", she said, grimacing.

"Of course I do, I was training with Amenemhet until now."

"Still not an excuse for not taking a bath", she stuck her tongue out, making him roll his eyes.

"And what if I tell you that you could never see me again?", he suddenly said.

Her expression changed to seriousness immediately as she now watched him with a frown.

"What do you mean?", she asked, getting off his breast and instead sitting down next to him.

"I...", Ramesses raised himself up, scratching his head. "It shouldn't have sounded so harsh, sorry, but... well, my father wants me to accompany him to Kadesh."

"You don't make it sound like the city belongs to Kemet", she said suspiciously.

"No, not anymore. It is in the hands of the Hittites. We are going to put an end to their incursions by a show of strength, wrestling control of the city from them and then drawing our borders where they once were."

Her eyes narrowed.

"So this is why you are here."

"Yeah, kind of... I wanted you to hear it first."

"No, you only wanted to get your share of pity, don't you?", she said, suddenly becoming playful again, even if not quite as much as before. "Why can't you just man up a little more?"

"So this is your reaction?", he said, halfway between being aghast and laughing out loud.

"Hey, I really don't expect you to die, if this is any consolation for you. If you do die, I come and get you! I'm too bloody young to be a widow!"

Ramesses held his tongue, just watching how she looked at him. Watching her fine features and her clever eyes. Her words were mocking, but her eyes were full of worry.

"Just take care of yourself", she finally said and the prince took it as a sign to embrace her.

They stayed entangled for quite some time before she let go of him again. He took the cue to stand up and attempted to leave her room.

"So now you're giving Isetnofret the news?", she suddenly said, making him pause in the doorframe.

 _As was custom for a royal prince, Nefertari was not his only consort. Already at a very young age, he was married to both girls who were daughters of accomplished servants of the state. It was likely he would marry even more after succeeding his father since many treaties with other kings were sealed with a marriage to give the pact lasting power. Proving his potency as the son of Ra certainly had its merits, but there were politics and there was love._

"I was actually thinking about that bath you recommended...", he replied, twitching.

"You can't really not tell her, can you?", she said with the same suspicious tone as before.

"I will, but as I said, I wanted you to hear me first. You both have my love, but there is only one who makes the sun shine for me", he gave her a longing look before finally turning around and leaving.

 _As promised, the king went out with his troops on the morrow. The goodbyes from his queen mother and his wives were tearful, but they trusted in the ability of Menmaatre to earn victory and in the ability of Ramesses to fight for himself. Their trip with the ship began on the river Hapi downstream, then along the coast towards the borders of the empire. It was a long and tedious march, but the army of them reached the plains of Kadesh in record time._

Ramesses stood in his bright war chariot, leaning onto its guard with a bored expression. The long column of spear-toting warriors was marching across the barren lands, while they drove slowly next to them. Amenemhet was his driver, having the rains of their two horses in his hands. Up to this time, war seemed to consist only of marching. The young prince watched the chariot of his father in front of him. He was watching the horizon with raised chin. If he was bored as well, he wasn't showing it. But then something happened. One Kemetite rider, who were the armies eyes and ears, came towards them from the front.

"Let's see what is happening", he said to Amenemhet, who nodded and guided the horses to drive them next to the pharaoh.

"Greetings, my king", the rider said after he arrived.

"What is it?", Menmaatre asked back.

"They must have decided to not let it come to a siege. The defenders of the city have left it, the Hittites are marching towards us in combat formation."

The prince watched his father and saw how the hint of a smile crept up on his face.

"Very well... it is the most desirable outcome. You have done well, return to your post and alarm the officers. We will meet them here."

Soon thereafter, Menmaatre's officers gave their orders and the column formed a single giant frontline of soldiers, everyone knew his position.

 _The tactic was rather simple really. The archers stood in the front, the spear and axemen behind them, ready to cover them when the enemy got close. But the most crucial part had the charioteers. They formed a defensive bubble around the Kemetite forces. A necessary precaution since the Hittites were known to disrupt even the tightest formation with their heavy chariots which were designed to punch through foot soldiers like battering rams through gates._

In front of the Kemetite force, the horizon was covered by a thick wall of dusty clouds. Ramesses watched it with awe before turning around and following his father's chariot how it slowly proceeded along their lines. The soldiers stood attention, silently listening to their king, who was addressing them:

"Children of Kemet! For far too long a time war has been the way of the Hittites. They pass our borders, take our villages, slaughter our cattle and kill our wives and children! They only became so bold because they think us weak. And for far too long a time, a time of chaos and division, they were right. But not anymore. The two countries are united again! The two countries are strong again! And the two countries will not tolerate aggression!", he pointed towards the horizon where the enemy army was approaching. "The goddess Sekhmet watches you, remember this! Let her hear your roar! Let her hear your wrath! Let her join our battle!"

The soldiers cheered, clapping their shields and weapons together to amplify the clatter.

"She can't hear you yet!", Menmaatre yelled against their shouts, smiling.

Another roar of a thousand voices went through the plains. Ramesses was covered with goosebumps, so much it shook him up. Amenemhet next to him joined their cry with a broad grin.

"Now let's go finish them!", Menmaatre then turned to the officers in their chariots who had awaited him. "The king takes over the centre. Hor-em-usecht, you the left, Imen-em-hat the right. Ride like Shu and shoot like Sekhmet herself! Don't let their cavalry reach our lines!"

His driver guided the horses around so that he could quickly move to the chariot units he was commanding. But Ramesses spoke up before he went off.

"Where is my position, father?"

The king looked at him as if he had forgotten he was even there.

"Amenemhet, bring the prince to the rearguard! This shall be his command."

"But then I will only fight if anything goes wrong", he protested.

"Exactly this is the plan", the king replied and disappeared into the distance.

Ramesses looked after him, how he went into battle with his bow at his side. Grudgingly he submitted to fate and let Amenemhet guide his chariot behind the battle lines.

 _The prince never saw much of the battle. Only dust and the sound of screams and clashing weapons. He only heard about it later on. The Hittite forces were far smaller in numbers and ill equipped. The pharaoh Menmaatre, strong of Ka like Ra himself, sliced through their formations as if they weren't even there. The own losses were low, many enemy chariots were destroyed and the bulk of their infantry wavered and fled the field. When the city guard of Kadesh saw from the walls what had happened to their defenders, they quickly opened the gates and send word of surrender._

The scene of the battlefield was a horrible sight to behold. Amenemhet carefully guided their chariot through a plain speckled with the bloodied bodies of the dead and the dying. Next to the humans, the corpses of horses and the broken hulks of chariots were scattered among them. Numerous Kemetite soldiers also wandered through the field. Most of them were ordered to retrieve their wounded and were visible by moving in teams of two. They killed those of the enemy and those who were past saving, but took the living ones and carried them back to the vanguard, where the healers had already set camp. But some were surely only here for plunder. Ramesses gulped. The air was filled with the screams of the dying and the iron stench of blood and shit.

 _Even when his knees wavered, the prince knew he had to look at it. He knew, he would bring shame upon himself if he looked away. Friends and enemies alike died in war, like it was since the beginning of human conflict. But he was a son of Ra, he was not quite human. One could not expect him to command men into battle if he was afraid of death._

They soon left the battlefield behind and they drove towards the city which was surrounded by a small wall of clay bricks. The gates were open and when they entered, the chariot of Menmaatre already awaited their return.

"I congratulate you to your victory", Ramesses said to him, clenching his teeth and ignoring the anger about not having been allowed to contribute to it himself.

"This battle was only a tool to achieve a truer aim. Look around you, son of Ra. This is true victory!"

King Menmaatre proceeded with his chariot through the streets of Kadesh like the unfaced conqueror he was. Of the civilians nearly nothing was to see. Only the soldiers of Kemet accompanied them on their way. They cheered, they laughed, they clapped their weapons onto their shields. And a thousand voices shouted:

"Menmaatre! Menmaatre! Menmaatre!"

 _The young prince was awestruck. He realized that the victory his father meant never lay in the slaying of one's foes. It was not even the conquest of the city he desired. The true victory he achieved was the admiration of his people and the envy of his enemies. That was what it all was about. He wondered if he was ever able to make a name of himself if he always had to compare himself to so successful a king like the mighty Menmaatre. It was this day he decided he had to try it with all his power, all his strength. The next time he wouldn't sit back protecting the rearguard. The next time he would lead himself and would make the men shout: "Ramesses! Ramesses!"_

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Kai felt unusually exhausted when he woke up. But his alarm clock was ringing and he knew he still had to somehow show up at school. He looked at the red carvings on his hand and grimaced.

 _Will I dream of his life every day from now on?_

He had to admit that it was very interesting to see Ancient Egypt coming back to life in front of his eyes. Every historian would kill for those dreams. It was only too sad he wasn't able to tell anyone what he saw.

 _Young Ramesses surely behaved differently than Archer_ , he thought while standing under the shower. _According to the internet, he lived a very long life. Something must have happened so that he started to behave as detached from everything as he does._

The day before was strange and he was still not really able to understand everything. He and Archer had talked for quite a long time about what it meant to be a Master and what this strange Grail War was all about. A wish... letting seven ghosts from the past massacre each other only to unlock a single wish? It seemed too cruel a game only to fulfil a single desire. A single jinn was supposed to give three wishes, so why do six ghosts have to die for a single one? Well... Archer filled him in while they ate dinner until his parents arrived and he then vanished into his spirit form and... Kai really had no idea where he went then.

"Good morning", he said to his parents, who were nearly finished with eating.

"Morning, nice of you to show up at last. We haven't seen much of you lately", his father mused.

He had to admit he wasn't really in a talkative mood to his parents the day before and he had no intention of letting them know Ramesses II. was prowling the house. So after a short greeting he went to his room and spend the rest of the evening browsing through the internet for information about the king. He had no idea he was going to get the cinematic version though.

"I was a bit exhausted, sorry", he said, sitting down next to them.

"It's the third one, what a terrible mess", his mother grumbled.

"What?"

She was pointing at the TV screen. The local news showed the wreckage of a horribly mutilated car. Kai was barely able to recognize the brand of it. The news reporter informed them that they were not able to safe the driver.

"The third car crash near Einzbern in three days", she said. "Anyway, how was your visit with the doctor. Did he gave you an ointment or something?"

Kai reacted with glaring at his father.

"There was no doctor at Löwenplatz. And it was a terrible, terrible neighbourhood you've send me into", he icily told him.

"Löwenplatz? Huh, did I say that? Maybe it was Karlsplatz instead, I can't really recall", he replied, scratching his chin obliviously.

"You can't recall? You're kidding me, right?", Kai snapped.

"Calm down, it can't be that bad."

"You have no idea...", he grumbled.

"So what are you doing about it then?", his mother asked.

Kai opened his mouth and closed it again. He had completely forgotten about the command spells.

 _They are my connection to Archer... he said they are my right to give him orders he can't disobey. Or I can use the mana stored in them to empower his abilities. He pointed out how neatly this feature could get if we ever get into a pinch._

"It has already started to fade", he lied instead. "I guess it will go away on its own, so I leave it for the moment."

"Really? It doesn't look much better to me", she said with a frown.

"Don't worry."

He just wished he could say those word more sincerely. Soon thereafter he said his goodbyes, grabbed his bags and went to the bus stop. He was surprisingly early, but he didn't care. At least he was not likely to run into anyone he knew like this. Well, not anyone except Archer, who waited for him at the entrance in his spirit form.

"Good morning to you, Archer", he said to him.

"The king greets you as well, Master", the pharaoh said with his booming voice.

"Oh, please leave this 'Master'-thing... it is unnerving, really. You are several millennia my elder, so you really shouldn't refer to me like this."

"As you wish", he said in a tone that made it sound like he really didn't care for either way.

Kai sighed.

"Why English anyway? Sure, the German 'Meister' is basically the same word and sounds exactly as pretentious as 'Master', but why are those Grail War termini all in English? You're summoned in modern day Germany. Are the people responsible for it English speaking?"

"Not that the king knows of", Archer replied thoughtful. "According to the king's information the three founding members of the ritual were German, Russian and Japanese. Maybe this language was some kind of compromise for communications."

"Mmh... this is actually very likely. Wait, German you say? Who?"

"The von Einzbern family.", he replied curtly.

"You're kidding", Kai said, exasperated.

"It was not the king's intention to fool his Master", he frowned.

"Ah, it's just a saying. I was just surprised to hear that the guys from the castle were involved in it. They are sorcerers... Heck, this explains actually quite a lot."

He thought about them showing never showing up anywhere and all the creepy rumours about the mountainous forest their castle stood in. Now it seemed ever more likely all those gossips were true. Or at least a large chunk of them.

"Well, anyway. We think about our tactics regarding them later. It is likely they are participating, but they'll have more experience in these wars than we do. I doubt we can just charge in there. How often did they won?"

"Never", he said in a voice which sounded a bit pained.

"That's something, I think. Who won then?"

"Nobody."

There was sudden silence between the two of them. Kai leaned on a fence behind the bus stop, a grave expression on his face.

 _He said there were five of these conflicts before us. This makes 35 people who participated, 70 if we include the Servants. And all of them failed. They should have searched for a jinn instead._

"Okay, let's not allow the odds to pull us down", Kai said.

"The king agrees. As long as he is breathing, victory is assured, Master Kai."

"I said stop it... I can't stand you calling me this."

"Those are yours and the king's titles."

Kai thought a bit about this.

"Then... how about trying to use those words in your language? If it's not bothering you, I mean. I know it's likely I just put the strange feeling onto your shoulders with me not being reminded of their meaning, but you understanding them perfectly. What are you thinking about this?"

Archer had not to think long about it, his mouth formed a small smile before he made a little bow:

"The king would be honoured if his Master is interested in conversing in Medu Netscher, even if only for a few words."

The bus turned into the street and Kai went to the front of the sidewalk for quick entry.

"Then tell me. What is 'Master'?"

"The word most appropriate for the situation would be 'Nab'."

"Nab Kai? Huh, and what is Servant?"

"'Hem'. It is the word used for a manservant, but also in a religious meaning, especially in the combination of 'Hem Netscher', which means 'priest'."

"I like the sound of it. Hem Archer. What means Archer then?", he whispered curiously after having entered the nearly empty bus.

"The word meaning bowman would be inaccurate because it describes a soldier, not a single warrior. 'Nyu' would be the 'Hunter'."

"Interesting", he said, grinning.

The rest of their tour was not very spectacular, especially since the bus soon began to fill itself, so Kai stopped to talk in order not to look like a total idiot speaking to himself. Only after leaving it and stepping onto the school yard he started to whisper to him again.

"Ah, there was one thing I stumbled upon the internet yesterday and I would like to hear your version of it. Well, me and numerous historians."

"What do you want to know?", Archer asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you the guy from the bible?"

"Uh... the king does not understand the meaning of your words, Nab Kai", he replied, a bit startled.

"You must know, the pharaoh who negotiated with Moses about the release of the Jewish people. Who had to deal with god's plagues, parting oceans and stuff."

Archer sighed a bit.

"The king has memories of a man called Moses."

Kai stopped mid-walk, staring at his invisible guardian in disbelief. He honestly didn't expect this answer.

"So you are?", he asked, incredulous.

But Archer only raised his hand in front of him, immediately signalling for him to be quite. It was quite unnatural, really, how effective it was so that Kai had an irresistible urge to listen.

"Let the king continue, please. While he does have memories of all the events you describe, he is very sure those are not his own."

Kai wanted to ask: "How is this even possible?", but the word never left his lips.

"The king may have those memories, but they are detached from the rest of his life. The king does not know when they happened and there are details...", he made a grim expression. "The king never lost a first son to a supernatural disease. And the king guarantees you that under his rule no one in the two countries was living the life of a slave, especially not a whole people. In fact, the king did an expedition against the Israelites and visited Jerusalem at a time where it was only a small town."

"So why the memories then?", Kai asked quietly.

Archer shrugged, visibly relaxing.

"The king's best guess is that his spirit got merged with legends which were connected to him after his death the same way his Noble Phantasms were created."

He already told Kai about those Noble Phantasms the day before. Heroic Spirits were apparently equipped with magically enhanced symbols of their deeds in life. Archer seemed a bit unsettled about his ones though, making it clear that he can't use most of them without completely exhausting his limited supply of mana. Without worrying more about this Kai continued his way, entered the school and went into the direction of his classroom. But just in the lively corridor full of children, Archer began to tense, staring off into the distance.

"What is-", Kai began, but interrupted himself after he followed the eyes of his companion and saw what he saw. "Oh no..."

It was the girl from the day before again. She stood several meters away, watching him with a worried expression curiously similar to Archers.

"Sorry, I had completely forgotten amidst all the chaos that was yesterday", Kai sighed. "One of my underclassmen seems to have a Hem as well."

"It would have been a useful information for the preparations of the king and Nab Kai. But how did you learn of it without being a participant of the conflict?"

"Huh... it was quite a strange misunderstanding that caused her to... well, I think I challenged her to a battle or something."

Archer raised his eyebrows, something Kai assumed to express amusement despite his usual placid pokerface. It was this moment the girl chose to go to him. Archer took an aggressive stance, but Kai made a soothing hand gesture, desperately trying to tell him she's harmless.

 _She could have slaughtered me then and there, but she didn't. So I think she wants to battle fair and square._

"Good morning", Kai greeted her with a smile.

"Saber tells me you are not alone anymore", she said, frowning. "I take it you are not as unassuming as you were yesterday."

"I guess you can say so much...", he gulped.

"So... are you now ready to finish your business? Same time, same place?"

"The king agrees", Archer said immediately, not even bothering that she couldn't hear him.

Kai panicked. He was not sure this was such a good idea.

"Uh... I still have to talk about it with my friend here. Can we tell you our decision later?"

She glanced to her side, likely the place where her Servant stood. She then nodded.

"Fine. But don't take too much time."

She then went on her way, leaving both Kai and Archer behind. The ghost at his side frowned.

"It were acceptable conditions. There was no reason to delay our answer."

"I'm not so sure, I-", he was interrupted when the bells of the school rang. "Oh, damnit, now I'm getting late.", he dashed off to his room.

Sadly, there was not much time during the school day where he was able to get some distance between himself and his classmates, so they had to keep silence. Kai, sitting on his place and trying to focus on his lessons. And Archer, standing at the entrance of the classroom, staring at the teacher like a statue made of granite. It needed the PE lesson where they had activities outside that he was able to excuse himself into the edge of the little forest after doing his sprint.

"So now you want to tell the king your reasoning", Archer had awaited him with crossed arms.

"Yeah... he said Saber. What can you tell me about him?"

"The king told you the day before that only close-combat specialists are chosen for this vessel. Not necessarily swordsmen, but they are preferred. There is nothing else to add."

Kai sighed.

"If I learned one thing from videogames, it is that bowmen get slaughtered in close-combat-situations."

Archer looked as arrogant as ever.

"Not this one. The king will prevail in every situation."

"Sure...", Kai replied, grimacing.

"You doubt the abilities of the king?", he said, staring him straight into the eyes. "You don't have to. The king never relied only on the strength of his bow and never hesitated to strike his enemies down in melee. He was forced into close combat after his chariot broke down in battle against the Nubians. Only relying on the spear he brought with him he slaughtered all those soldiers who dared to try slay him. At the battle of Kadesh, the enemy force of chariots was so thick, it was inevitable to fight them hand to hand while in full charge. You see, the king succeeded in all those encounters, despite leading his unit of charioteers. With the blessing of Amun and the strength of Ra, nothing can stop him. Saber won't be a problem."

"Ah... I see your point", he said doubtful, slowly getting an idea of how all of those straight faced boasts were meant. "So what can you tell me about Saber. You were able to see him, so we can start planning right now."

"Mmh... the king is unfamiliar with his equipment, but he seemed to be a follower of Sekhmet", he said, suddenly deflating a bit.

"Sekhmet? Another Egyptian guy?"

"He didn't strike the king as an inhabitant of Kemet", he said unsure. "More like a foreigner."

"So why do you think he is a fan of your religion?", now it was Kai's turn to frown.

The pharaoh shrugged.

"He wears her symbols."

Kai had no idea what that meant. His research concentrated on Ramesses, not on the rest of Egyptian society.

"You don't sound very convinced of your analysis."

"The king lived in an age far earlier than most of his opponents. It is unlikely he will encounter someone with whom he is familiar with. For future evaluations, the king trusts the knowledge of his Nab who lives in so distant a future to correctly deduce the identities of our opponents."

Kai scratched his head. Sure, history was one of his favourite subjects, but he doubted he was able to recognize historical people by looking at them. It's not like they had photographs of many of them. And their descriptions and statues were embellished more often than not. In fact it was doubtful most of those were created during their lifetimes.

"I thank you for your trust, but I'm afraid I won't be of much help", Kai admitted.

His teacher called him then. He had to attend to do another sprint, so he left the pharaoh behind in the woods and went back to the Tartan track. Another possibility never came up. Kai finished his PE lesson and while he was putting on his shoes in front of the cabins, the next group of students poured into them. It was the class of the other Master, since she went straight up to him who was still kneeling.

"So, what is your decision?", she asked, impatience plainly written across her face.

Kai hesitated, Kai gulped, Kai then looked up to where Archer was standing behind the girl. It seemed as if they had all accepted the inevitable, only he was still squirming.

"We agree...", he finally said. "Same place and time as yesterday."

The girl nodded and went off. If she was happy about the battle or as doubtful as he was, she never gave him the chance to see. He only had six periods this day, so he was forced to wait the remaining 95 minutes in the cafeteria, nervously staring at the clock while whispering with Archer. He only gave him more assuring words, saying that their battle was something what had to happen and it was better to get it over with as soon as possible. Kai agreed, but it still felt awfully strange. And it hadn't become better when he finally arrived at the little forest, putting down his school bags at the edge of it. The girl arrived shortly thereafter, this time a bit more nervous. They faced each other with considerable distance between them, both Servants still in their spirit form.

 _This is just silly, we look like two Pokémon-trainers before throwing our balls._

"I never asked for your name", he tried to break the ice with a nervous smile.

"Is it so important?", she asked back with a frown.

"Of course it is, it's your name. I'm Kai", he replied, forcing himself to sound casual.

"Well, yeah... but... argh, damnit, I think I have no choice. My name is... Sanu-bri."

Kai reacted painfully startled.

"Excuse me?"

"That's my name, Sanu-bri Falk. Don't say anything, it's my parents fault for sticking such a crazy name on me. Most people call me Sabrina. I advise you to do the same."

 _What kind of insane parents does this to their daughter?_ , Kai thought glumly.

"Fits you better anyway", he replied. "Sabrina."

He took a deep breath and silence began to creep up between them. But this silence wasn't meant to last, because it was suddenly interrupted by a coarse laughter which seemingly came from nowhere.

"Ah, perfect. I can't help but envy you young people. Being able to politely exchange your names like honorable opponents before the single combat starts."

The person who spoke such words appeared shortly thereafter, right next to Sabrina. The crimson knight must have been Saber. And Archer didn't hesitate to take on corporeal form next to Kai as well. His sleeveless golden and blue armor was shining in the rays of sunlight which broke through the leaves above them. In his left hand he held a rather simple bow which was painted bright blue and covered with golden markings. But Kai had no mind to watch his companion take on battle stance, since he tried to do his simple job in this battle as good as possible. So he watched Saber carefully, trying to guess his identity. It seemed the knight in chainmail also did his best to help him, since he wore heraldry of all things.

Saber was a tall, muscular fellow who faced them with a proud stance, raised chin and his sword still sheathed. A broad smile was under his neatly cropped red beard. Kai was able to see his face because he wore a visorless helmet with a golden crown forged into the steel. But the most striking feature of his outfit was the long metal reinforced shield on his left arm, which was painted with a vertical column of three golden lions on a crimson red background. The woolen shirt he wore over his chainmail had the same color scheme, but with two standing lions facing each other as if in combat.

"There you finally are, honorable foe", he addressed Archer. "It is a shame we are not free to exchange our names and our houses on this glorious day. But simply knowing you were deemed worthy by the Throne of Heroes makes you an opponent who earned my respect regardless of your name and heritage."

"Prideful words, son of Sekhmet. But the king hadn't overcome death and time for coming into this modern age to exchange polite words. You will be the king's first opponent and you will fall."

Saber made a simple, slightly mocking bow, his grin widening even more in the process.

"As you wish. Since the Grail does not allow us the luxury of sharing its possession, only a duel can decide our worthiness. Well then, you are the first hero I face as well, but I guarantee you, you will not be the last", he then proceeded to slowly draw his longsword, presenting it in front of his face as if saluting his enemy.

For some reason Kai thought it wasn't quite fitting to the rest of his royal equipment. It was a surprisingly simple blade of a duller color and with an unadorned hilt. The only decoration was a column of strange carvings covering its full length. They seemed like Celtic runes, but Kai was no expert on that matter.

"Nab Kai, you should increase your distance to the battlefield", Archer then advised while still focusing on Sabers every movement.

Kai gulped, taking a few steps backwards.

"Even more distance would be advisable", Archer then said gravely.

Saber nodded to it in agreement, looking back at his Master.

"Archer has the right of it, petite lionne. It could get ugly fast, so you better stay away."

Kai saw Sabrina jumping away from her companion after exchanging a worried look with him.

"Now then, ancient hero", Saber declared with a grin. "Let our clashing steel sing the song of glory, while we dance the dance of knighthood to it!"

Archer wordlessly replied by slowly grabbing into one ray of sunlight which broke the canopy of leaves close to him. It looked insane as if he was really going to touch it. But after he drew his hand back, Kai realized that his right hand was indeed not empty anymore. He had a solid grip around a single shining dart of light, which rapidly took form and became even brighter. It was an arrow made of pure light which he slowly held to his bowstring. Archer never drew his bow yet, but his slow movements made it clear that he could draw and loose his arrows faster than Saber could blink and only graciously decided not to for the sake of tension.

Saber reacted accordingly and slowly put his shield between the two of them, raising his sword at his side. He then readied himself for charge, tensing his knees. The air between the two opponents became electrified and Kai was only able to stare back and forth between them, not knowing what to do. He only knew that the first fight in this conflict was about to begin...


	7. Chapter 6 - Kai

So, continuing right after the cliffhanger from last week, our first fight:

* * *

Chapter 6 - Kai

The two opponents were still trying to stare each other down. Kai stood in some distance to them between two large trees. He didn't even dare to breath, afraid to miss anything.

 _At least I have a very good idea who the enemy is..._ , he thought.

" _The king approves of Nab Kai's perception. You already have his identity?_ ", the voice of Archer asked.

Kai panicked. Archer didn't even move his lips and he heard his deep voice more clearly than logically possible.

 _He is in my head!_

" _The king just uses the connection between Hem and Nab for communication. It would be advisable not to let our enemy know what we know._ "

 _Are you always in my head?_ , he said instead, fearing the worst.

" _The king prefers not to... for your sake... and his own_ ", Archer replied grimly. " _His identity, please._ "

Kai reminded himself of the situation they had found himself in and concentrated on the name he had immediately associated with the knight in front of him.

" _Very impressive. Knowing his story even before he used his Noble Phantasm_ ", Archer lauded, causing Kai to think it embarrassing.

 _Don't make it sound like it's a difficult thing, really. He wears heraldry! That's kind of the point of why he does it. And I could still be wrong. I associate his sigil with the country he is a royal from, but I'm not exactly sure if he is this certain someone._

" _Don't undervalue your knowledge, Nab Kai. It is important to be proud of your accomplishments. Your reasoning sounds logical, so stand behind your words with full conviction._ "

 _Fine_ , Kai thought, still a bit unsure about it all. _If I'm right, he'll charge you head on._

" _The king counts on it!_ ", Archer said to this and Kai imagined that he formed a small smirk.

Then it all happened at once. Kai forced himself not to blink, otherwise he would have missed virtually everything. Saber charged. But not like any human being would charge. He put one foot forward and then immediately disappeared in a red blur. The fraction of a second later, Archer simply disappeared, leaving two sandal-shaped prints in the ground. The very same moment, the red blur that was Saber got engulfed by numerous explosions, throwing dirt and dust into the air. The clouds of whirled up sand were thick and made his eyes water, so Kai had to cover his face with the arm, slowly trying to get a grasp of what had actually happened.

 _Definitely unlike Pokémon._

Kai lowered his arm and desperately tried to make anything out amidst the clouds which were slowly settle down. He saw the red shape of Saber still standing, and how he lowered his shield, staring off into the distance. He had somehow made a turn of 180 degrees within those seconds and was facing the direction he came from. After a few more seconds Kai was able to make out that the entire path Saber walked upon was dotted with numerous small craters. He then followed the look of Saber and found Archer standing amidst the top of one of the larger trees. He was looking down on his opponent, aiming at him with another arrow made of light.

 _He must- wow..._

He slowly grasped what had happened. Archer must have jumped over the charging Saber, covering him with a continuous stream of arrows and thus causing all this destruction. He was told that Servants were superhumanly fast, but this was just ridiculous.

"So you are of the dodgy type, Archer?", Saber asked him, shaking his head. "But I'm afraid you can't evade my blade forever."

Now it was Sabers turn to jump, trying to get to the pharaoh above him like a red bullet train. Kai could have sworn he heard a bang after the knight pushed himself from the ground, signaling him having overcome the sound barrier. Archer kept calm, firing a volley at his moving opponent, which exploded on Sabers raised shield, seemingly unable to slow him down. Shortly before Saber reached him, Archer disappeared again and this time Kai heard the bang for sure. Reappearing on a tree several meters apart, he let loose another volley which was countered again by Sabers shield. But this time the knight seemed to struggle a bit more since he was busy crashing into the tree feet forward and pushing himself off it to follow Archer. The tree itself, despite being a sturdy looking oak, creaked and cracked and wavered so much Kai was afraid it would get uprooted.

 _This is insane._

Kai watched in awe how Saber dashed forward, hacking with his sword after the golden pharaoh who quickly evaded every charge, letting loose his explosive energy arrows while he was at it. But strikes of the crimson knight were not completely ineffective. Every single slash was so powerful, it caused a razor-sharp gust of wind to cut through branches and trunks alike and sending them crashing down to the ground even if Saber was not quite close enough to use his sword directly.

 _Is he... is he trying to clear the wood?_

Archers Master was not quite able to finish his thoughts since the two combatants passed over his head and moved towards the position where Sabrina stood. She jumped to the side and barely escaped a fairly heavy branch which could have crushed her head. Kai ran up to her, trying to look helpful, but she was already on her feet when he reached her.

"Let's get out of here", he just said.

"Sure thing", she nodded and followed him back onto the sports field where the risk of ending as collateral damage seemed a bit lower for them.

They turned around and watched how the two Servants continued their chase without even bothering for them.

"I wonder what the people will think after they find what Saber leaves of the forest", Kai thought loudly.

"Well... they can probably blame a storm or anything", Sabrina shrugged.

He looked at her incredulously.

"There is not even a small gust and it's the middle of summer."

"They will just explain it somehow...", she replied.

Kai turned back to the battlefield where one oak was just split into halves the fraction of a second after the golden shimmer of Archers armor disappeared from its top. The red knight continued his hunt, effortlessly shrugging off every single attack of the bowman. And somehow Kai had the feeling that with each strike, he came a tiny bit closer to the elusive Egyptian.

The moment he thought that, a hellish impact was audible. Archer crashed to the ground, his feet leaving two deep trails in the ground while he was sliding backwards, struggling to keep balance. And Saber was on him the next second, his sword singing when gliding through the air. It all happened at once, but for Kai it seemed as if the time was standing still.

"Archer!", he gasped.

A golden flash and a muffled sound of steel hitting something soft later Saber and Archer were locked in a still life, suddenly lacking every movement. Blood dripped onto the ground. But Sabers sword was lowered, seemingly having missed Archer. No, Kai immediately realized that his Servant was not holding his bow anymore, but a simple rectangular shield which looked like nothing more than a wooden frame covered by a black and white leather hide. He had blocked Sabers blow with it. Somehow. Kai was not really sure how so simple a shield could block a steel sword, at least until he realized that the answer was most likely 'magic'. And the shield was not the only piece of equipment he had summoned. His right hand had a firm grip around the hilt of a short, weirdly shaped bronze sickle sword. And its blade was locked in the flesh of Sabers right shoulder. He had not wounded him deeply, only having broken a small number of the steel rings which made up Sabers chainmail. But it was deep enough to draw blood.

Saber didn't need long to react to it. He forced his shield up, knocking the sword out of his moment and the very moment Archer drew it back, Saber tackled him shield forward with all his strength. And he was awfully strong. He sent the pharaoh flying straight across the sports field and he landed rather roughly in the small wooden shed the school used to store the iron balls for the shot put and other equipment for outdoor activities. He broke the door and a good chunk of the front walls, having crushed enough of its structural integrity to make the roof falling down on him like some oversized cardboard house. Kai knew he should worry about his Servant but the first thought crossing his mind was:

"The school needs a new shed..."

"It's not like we're going to miss it that much", Sabrina replied, a nervous smile on her face.

She obviously tried to look as if it didn't bother her much, but Kai assumed she thought as much as he that the fighting was going to get out of hand. It was quite surprising just how much damage they caused in these few minutes they were at each others throats. Saber meanwhile slowly walked towards the sorry remains of the sheds, checking his gaping flesh wound with a frown. If it caused him much pain, he wasn't showing it. He was waiting patiently how Archer freed himself from the wooden debris he was buried in and came to his feet. He had still his own sickle-sword and leather shield instead of his bow.

"Now this is a very curious trick you pulled off there, mischievous Archer", he announced. "I really expected you'd stick to your bow. Or is this sword your Noble Phantasm instead?"

Archer looked at the weapon with its iconic bend blade. For some reason he seemed a little bit surprised or at least curious about it.

"A kopesh? The king's grandfather might have used this weapon, but it was outdated at the time of the king..."

Saber gave an amused snort.

"You didn't know this weapon would get summoned?"

Archer looked up, slowly returning to his usual placid expression.

"Weapons are tools, let them be Noble Phantasms or not. A warrior as formidable as you are should know that. And there is a tool for every situation. The king only called for a sword. That this weapon was connected to his legend is a little bit surprising to him. It seems as if the people of the modern age think he went into battle with it."

"Well, I can't agree more about the part with the tools and the situations. I take it then that this is an ordinary conceptual weapon created by the grail?", Saber tilted his head. "I already expected such a trick to be possible in the same way we can weave our armor from mana, but I never thought to try it with a weapon. I thought we are stuck with our class?"

"So it seems. The vessel of the souls for the king and his opponent were designed for a single purpose and a single specialization. Fortunately for the king, he possess the skill of the Imperial Privilege, allowing him to call upon the skills he honed in life. Unfortunately for you, the king was educated in the usage of a wide variety of weapons."

Kai's heart sacked a bit down when the tense situation suddenly came to halt through the coarse laughter of the crimson knight.

"I can't believe it. So early in the Grail War and you are already abusing the rules", he raised his sword again, the Celtic runes shimmering in the sun. "I like it! A bowman thinking himself worthy to cross swords with a knight! I don't mind. I don't mind at all. I looked forward to cross swords with heroes from across time and space, so it would be a shame for me being the only one having a sword. Come, Archer, show me your true color!"

Saber darted forward and this time, Archer didn't retreated. He awaited him. Kai found it worrisome. They weren't in the forest anymore, but he wasn't worrying about them getting seen by someone from the school, he was worrying about the tactical disadvantage. In the now cropped little forest Archer was able to evade Saber and let him exhaust himself by maneuvering through the trees. He had the advantage of the terrain. It didn't took Kai long to realize that Archer was faster while Saber was physically stronger, so it was only a matter of keeping distance between them and grind him down. But Kai was unable to explain what Archer was now thinking by allowing himself to get into a battle on even ground. Especially with equipment seemingly inferior to Saber's sword and shield. The weird looking longsword had far more reach than his kopesh even if you were ignoring the differences in material.

 _Does he try to get killed?_

Surprisingly he didn't. At least not with only the first strikes Saber aimed at him. He evaded with his usual lightning speed, but not by keeping his distance, instead he chose to get even closer, circling around the knight with the lion motifs and testing his defense by slashing at him here and there. Saber always blocked him with his shield, but now Kai was able to see just how unnerved he got at Archer for it. He was hurling his sword in an arc and began to take steps backwards, just to keep his opponent in front of him. The pharaoh continued his onslaught, driving Saber across the Tartan track and the grassy hills at its side. With each step and each strike the ground under their feet gave way and created visible cracks and furrows. Saber fought back fiercely, hacking at him and if not for pharaohs elusiveness, he would have struck him down numerous times. Whenever Archer was not able to evade a blow and had to block it with his shield, he was thrown back nearly a meter, sliding roughly across the ground. Saber then tried to pursue him with a quick series of stabs and strikes, but Archer quickly returned to his usual game. After the third time of this, Archer retreated close to the tall metal fencing which was encircling their small football field. He dodged one of Sabers blows there, but the fencing was not able to withstand that. The metal shattered, the rest bend and broke. A big part of the wall came down on the empty football field with quite a lot of clatter.

"Ouch...", Kai exclaimed, wincing.

Saber managed to get some distance between himself and Archer, pointing with his sword at him. Despite all this, neither of the two was even breathing heavily.

"Do you smell it, Archer? This is the stuff legends are made of. It is the age of myths come again!", Saber declared proudly. "Dueling like this, boosted with the supernatural... King Arthur and his knights must have felt the same sense of wonder when they were questing for the grail."

"Battle is no source of amusement for the king. It is just a means to an end", Archer replied darkly.

"Oh, you should at least pretend you have fun here! It's a chance you only get once", Saber made a face.

"The king has heard from Nab Kai that you were a ruler as well. He starts to doubt it."

Sabers eyes narrowed and his smile faltered.

"Your master has the right of it, your opponent was once a king as well as a knight. But what makes you doubt the words of his?"

"The king only realized that you enjoy fighting for the sake of fighting, son of Sekhmet. But a true ruler weighs the lives of his people and the gains of victory before he decides to go to war, emotions do not play any role in it. In this grail war, your own life and the one of your Master are the only ones to consider, but the king pities your people if you guided your path in life by the same principles."

"You pity them, Archer?", Saber asked back, exasperated. "You don't even know them and me und you think you can judge us? I can only tell you that I am a knight before I am king. I lived by those principles and died by them. My people revered me for it and called me a hero, so it seems they liked what they saw in me. Who are you to pity them?"

"The king too was admired for his victories and yes, he let his people know how mighty he was in battle. But he never took joy in killing. And the king knows it to be wrong to drag his people into a battle which didn't need to be fought."

"I... I think I see your point, Archer", Saber said hesitatingly. "I'm not exactly sure why it grates you so much, though... of course I never campaigned without a cause... Like legendary King Arthur quested for the grail to save Britain, I volunteered to be a champion for the whole Christendom. It was something larger than my people."

"The king does not care for the excuses you used in your past, son of Sekhmet", Archer said amused. "He only sees you now, swinging your sword in ecstasy. Do you have a cause now?"

Saber lowered his sword and tilted his head in confusion.

"Of course I have! And so do you, worthy opponent. But there is no reason to exchange them. Our fates are predestined, our second lives only permitted to exist to obtain the grail. All we can do is comparing our skills with the blade... to see whose cause is favored more by god."

Saber charged again, slower this time. Kai had a feeling that whatever Archer had tried by allowing their discussion had failed. If he wanted to make the knight angry to exploit a temper, it had caused the opposite. Sabers movements spoke of suspicion. He guided his blade through the air with far more precision than before while maintaining the same care about his defense as before. Archer seemed less jumpy, too, even though he still preferred to evade his blade than to block it with his shield. Then it happened all at once again. Archer was seemingly too close to Sabers right side and the knight knocked at him with his shield, following the first strike with a charge, pushing Archer backwards. Archer had problems keeping the balance, but a swift kick with his armored boots later, Saber had managed to overwhelm the pharaoh and had him onto the ground. The knight, standing over him, didn't hesitate for a second. The runic blade was singing again when he guided it downwards. But Archer was faster again. He pulled up his shield. The longsword grazed it and buried itself into the ground, causing a massive shockwave to burst it asunder. Simultaneously, Archer from his low position was able stab with his short sword under the shield of his opponent, causing a second wound at his hip.

"Ugh...", Saber groaned and now struck at his opponent with the sharpened lower edge of his shield, only for Archer to roll to the side.

The knight didn't follow him, but instead retreated a few meters away, watching how he got up. Either because it was not chivalrous to kick after a fallen enemy or because he was not eager to get stabbed at again from that angle, Kai assumed.

"I thought the first slash was just luck, but now a second time...", Saber gave a bitter laugh. "You might not have the right attitude towards our duel, but whoever trained you sure did an excellent job. I've never seen anyone fighting like this."

"The king was just trained to survive... but he is sure that his masters approve of your praise, son of Sekhmet."

 _Amenemhet..._ , Kai thought immediately, the picture of the boy and his trainer appearing in front of his eyes.

"Well enough...", Saber grimaced. "It vexes me to admit it, but I thought, our duel would be short and one-sided even with conventional means. I beg your pardon for having underestimated you. I just hoped to conserve energy for my fight against Lancer and Rider."

 _What is he trying to imply?_

Archer must have felt the same unease at those words. He tensed and put his shield forward, getting ready for whatever Saber was planning. But Saber didn't charge immediately. He saluted him instead again with his sword.

"If I continue to fight half-heartedly, I might overexert myself before having met the other great heroes summoned into this age. This wouldn't do. For I am Saber, the mightiest champion of the three knight-classes! And now, Archer, I will give you the honor to witness my true might."

Kai gasped. The runes on the knight's longsword began to glow brightly in an otherworldly golden color. He thought he knew what this meant.

 _His Noble Phantasm... Archer, he is going to use his Noble Phantasm!_

Saber swung his sword in an arc, the glow leaving a soft trail of golden light in the air. He then stepped towards Archer, his shield with the three golden lions held forward. Archer awaited him, scanning his whole surrounding with a suspicious look on his face. Whatever was going to happen, he seemed ready to face it. Saber however didn't seem to be ready to unleash it with only his first strike. Archer evaded the golden sword, this time without a counterattack, but Saber never gave him the time for it anyway. He pushed forward with his shield and hacked at him simultaneously, driving him across the horribly furrowed remains of the Tartan track. With each strike, the glow of the runes became brighter until not only them, but the whole blade emitted a blinding light. Kai had trouble following the battle with his eyes beginning to hurt from just looking at it. He blinked when he heard a horrible cracking sound. When he opened the eyes again, the golden longsword had buried itself deeply into the wooden frame of Archers shield. Its pointy tip was only centimeters away from his face.

And then Saber shouted it. The name went through Kai's spine and made him shiver. It was just a word echoing through the air, but its meaning and Sabers fierce devotion to it, gave it enormous power.

" **Excalibur!** "

A blinding beam of light was emitted from the sword and swallowed both Archer and Saber. From the sword hilt onward, it created a dazzling and terrifying trail of destruction, cutting through the ground and further. Much to Kai's horror, it found its way directly to the main school building, slicing a thin line into its concrete walls which went from the roof three floors right down to the floor. When the golden light subsided, Archer was nowhere to see. Only Saber stood there, Excalibur still stuck deeply in the shield.

"No way!", Kai called out, completely aghast, while Saber was silently freeing his weapon, a sombre expression on his face.

 _It's not possible, he can't..._

Sabrina next to him was grinning, victory shining in her eyes. At least until Saber suddenly whirled around, focused on the roof of the gymnasium nearby. Kai followed his eyes and now it was his turn to grin. There he stood. His bow raised, silently aiming with a massive arrow of light which glowed as bright as the sun, just screaming 'powerful'.

 _He evaded!_ , Kai almost called out in his relief.

Archer let loose. It was as if the whole world kept its breath. Well, the whole world except Saber. His reaction was rather simple.

"Merde!", he yelled, putting his shield between himself and the projectile.

He was hit and the arrow unleashed its power in a flaming explosion. After this one subsided, Saber stood in front of a small crater, his own legs had dug themselves deeply into the ground from the recoil, but otherwise he seemed fine. A little singed, but fine. With Archer having returned to the high ground and Saber slowly emerging from the smouldering remains of what was once a perfectly fine sports field, the situation had returned enough to the status quo so that Kai allowed himself to take a breath and make sense of what he saw.

"There is no way this is Excalibur!", he found himself calling out.

Saber turned a bit to him, without lowering his defence towards Archer.

"How should you know, boy?"

"Well, you certainly aren't King Arthur, are you?", Kai said, madly.

Everything he witnessed here was absolutely insane, but he wouldn't be able to do his job if Saber was lying about his Noble Phantasm. And his exasperated reaction seemed to have taken a bit tension out of the situation. Even Sabrina smiled again.

"Maybe he is", she interjected, cocking her head. "How could you deny it?"

"First of all, he wears heraldry!", Kai began. "King Arthur wouldn't wear heraldry. My second point is that King Arthur likely doesn't even exist. He is a composite character made up of three different people and a bunch of later novels. And since your knight neither looks Roman nor Celtic nor anything in between, he is unlikely to be any of them."

Sabrina shrugged and Saber laughed out loud.

"As it seems, petite lionne, he got me there. No, I'm not King Arthur."

"Then way do you have his sword?", he asked, shaking his head. "I thought those Noble Phantasms are supposed to be connected to your own myth."

"Oh, it is. It is my sword and it is connected to the me who made his mark in history", the knight proudly explained. "Having spread the tale of having retrieved the original Excalibur seems to have been one of my finer notions all things considered. But don't worry, I'm honored by the Throne of Heroes granting me a fraction of its power and treat it with the respect the blade and its original wielder deserve. And it's not like the man is around to complain, is he?"

Kai sighed, while Saber faced Archer again. Then, without any further delay, Saber darted forward, dashing across the football field in a zigzag as to avoid the magical arrows raining down on him. Having arrived in front of the building he jumped upward, only for Archer to disappear again. This time, Saber was faster. He must have used the wall of the building to change his direction mid-fly, but he did and he seemingly crashed into the moving Archer, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Kai and Sabrina ran up to them, but before they reached the crater they landed in, Saber was already afoot, kicking Archer away. Much to Kai's continued horror, Archer flew straight into the side of the main school building. Through the wall even, leaving only a cloud of dust and a gaping hole.

"No!", Kai called out. "Stop it!"

Sabrina said nothing, but Saber seemed as if he would have ignored her anyway. He followed Archer into the building and the next things they heard were terrible noises of destruction.

"We must end it, it went far enough", he said, looking pleadingly to Sabrina. "Come on, this here is one thing, but we can't allow them to thrash the school!"

She just stared at the mayhem in shock.

"You are probably right, it would be a pain to explain so much", Sabrina then said, nodding.

They went after them, through the backdoor.

 _Archer, where are you?_

" _The king cannot give you a good direction, he and his opponent passed several classrooms._ "

 _Oh, that's just great... Just stop it! Both of you! The school is not a battlefield!_

" _The son of Sekhmet doesn't seem so eager to stop the hostilities._ "

At least they didn't need a direction. The audible clatter was compass enough to find them. When they entered the wing of the school which was their battlefield, they found a sight of destruction. Walls were torn apart, doors were cut and windows and furniture alike were shattered to pieces. With some of the supportive elements being destroyed, some parts of the upper floor had come down in a mess of destroyed ceiling and broken chairs and tables. Shortly thereafter, the fire alarm began to ring.

"Fuck", Kai just exclaimed. "The principal is going to kill us."

He and Sabrina heard a clatter in the classroom next to them. When they opened the splintered remains of the door, they found the two Servants staring at each other amidst the carnage they caused. This time, both were heavily beaten up. Saber got a multitude of more cuts, but this time he seemed to have struck Archer. He had a gaping flesh wound on his leg and on his thigh.

 _The school... Saber must have consciously lured Archer here to rid him of the room he needs to evade._

"Kai! Sanu-bri!", a woman's voice called out.

Both Masters turned around and saw one of the teachers for theatre lessons emerge from a corridor, a cluster of horrified students in their wake.

"What are you just standing there! The school collapses!", she said with terror in her voice.

 _The theatre course! Oh no, they were still here on so late a hour..._

Both he and Sabrina looked at their Servants before anyone got closer.

"Disappear!", they both hissed.

The two warriors looked startled, Archer with his usual frown and Saber openly annoyed, but they obeyed and took on spirit form. As if on cue, the ceiling came down the very next second, burying both ghosts in a plethora of rubble.

They decided to join the evacuating students, pretending to look properly shocked about everything. They learned how the theatre course was doing his usual routine in the assembly hall when they heard the noise of collapsing concrete walls. They never saw any of the two fighters and assumed an earthquake or a weakness of the structure of the building. In any case, the didn't loose any time to push the fire alarm and escape. It took some time and a few well placed lies before the two Masters were able to excuse themselves after the ambulance and the fire brigade appeared.

"At least nobody was hurt...", Sabrina said sullenly while they walked away.

"It doesn't matter, they wrecked the school!", Kai complained, barely able to stop himself from shouting.

"I know... I know, but we can't undo what happened, can we?", Sabrina said, grimacing. "We can only think about what to do now."

"You don't want to say you want to continue the battle after all this? They wrecked the school!", Kai honestly thought he had a good point with this.

"Sshh! Calm yourself, what should the people think?", she hissed at him.

Kai looked around. The streets near the school began to fill themselves with people. Most of them were alarmed by the sirens of the fire department cars which parked so close to their houses.

"Okay, what now?", Kai replied, trying to ignore his confusion about everything.

"I live pretty close nearby. Let's just move our discussion about the next steps there", Sabrina declared. "We can't just parting ways not knowing what to do if we meet the next time. Or are you too afraid to follow an invitation from an enemy?"

"Mmh... What's with your parents? Are they into this Grail War thing?"

"No and they won't disturb us. They are abroad, travelling with my older sister."

"Well, it's better than pretending nothing happened, is it?", he shrugged.

So it was decided. Sabrina guided him through several streets until they stood in front of a lonely mansion at the edge of the forest. All the other houses surrounding it looked as if they kept their distance to its property. Kai, having slightly settled down from the sudden turn of events, couldn't help but compare it to his own house.

"That's nearly a little villa", he said with raised eyebrows.

"It's nothing so impressive, really. It's just something my parents inherited."

She led him in and indeed despite its dark outward appearance with the red brick-walls covered in vines, it just looked like any other house from the inside, if only a bit more spacious. She led him straight to the living room which consisted of two leather couches around a table, a TV and a separated part with a wooden dinner table. Sabrina offered him one of the couches and let herself fall down onto the other one after he took a seat.

"So what now?", Kai said unsure.

"The fight was interrupted and therefore inconclusively", Archer said, reappearing in corporeal form sitting next to Kai.

"According to the rules of the Grail War, we have no choice but to continue where we left off", Saber exclaimed, having seated himself next to his Master.

Kai just had to realize their wounds and the damage on their armor had completely disappeared.

"You guys wrecked the school!", he complained again, just in case they hadn't listened the first time.

"It was an unpleasant collateral damage, but you two chose the location", Saber said with a shrug.

Sabrina gave him an incredulous look:

"You want to blame us now? Really? You could have at least warned us that you two can cause so much destruction."

"The king did... and so did Saber...", Archer said with a frown.

"Just give us a more appropriate battlefield and we will settle it", Saber announced.

"No! No, you just can't...", Kai repeated, miserably.

"The battle has to take place", Archer told him.

It was not good. Both Servants wanted to continue their mayhem and Sabrina still looked unsure. He somehow had to even the odds. He looked at Sabrina, trying to get her help.

"I take it from your reaction that you are not a wizard."

"Of course not", Sabrina replied. "What has it to do with anything?"

"It maybe has... Archer told me that usually only mages participate in such a Grail War. I'm no mage either. So my question is: Who is?"

"What are you going to imply?"

"The guys from the castle... the Einzberns. They are wizards, according to Archer."

"What?", she reacted confused.

 _Saber never told her._

"He is right", Saber grumbled. "They are founding members of the ritual which was used to summon us."

"I just met Archer yesterday and everything is a little bit fuzzy right now", Kai continued. "But as I see it, you and I are sitting in the same boat. We are dragged into some fight which never was ours. Starting it by bashing each others heads in might have been a mistake."

"The wolves...", Sabrina suddenly called out.

"Huh?"

"When I met Saber... it was two days ago", she suddenly began to tell, as if remembering something very important. "I was jogging through the forest and was suddenly attacked by some beasts. No ordinary wolves, really. They were unusually large and black and shaggy... I thought I was finished until Saber jumped into the fray like some shining knight from the stories he likes so much", she looked at Kai with wide eyes. "Whoever sent those monsters, he must be responsible for everything."

"Let's call a truce then. Until we meet more of the other Masters and know how to deal with them, we should refrain from attacking each other."

Archer looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"The king would have liked to see it to an end today, but he also sees your reasoning. The king agrees."

Saber however crossed his arms.

"I hate to leave business unfinished..."

"You said you wanted to meet and fight the other Heroic Spirits. Well, we won't stop you. In fact, if one of us faces a prepared Master, one who joined this Grail War on purpose, we should team up."

"An alliance, you say...", Archer mused with open interest.

"Maybe not so bad an idea, it increases the odds in our favour... but...", she seemed unsure.

"What is it?", Kai demanded softly.

"I'm just thinking about possible outcomes. What if we two are the only ones allying themselves. And what if our alliance succeeds... It would be just the two of us then."

"Then Archer and Saber can have their way and duke it out. I think it wouldn't hurt so much if either of us wins. At least we don't drag pupils into bloody deathmatches."

He watched how she was squirming at the prospect of it.

 _She is afraid Saber could loose._ , Kai suddenly realized. _I can't blame her. It looked pretty well for Archer until he was caught inside the building. And judging by the amount of Saber-shaped holes in the school..._

"You think it would just increase his odds, does it?", Saber grumbled. "Don't worry, petite lionne. The next time I will be better prepared."

"The king as well", Archer said with his usual placid expression.

"So everyone agrees?", Kai announced happily, watching how Sabrina sacked down into the couch.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound so bad, really."

"There is only a small, formal detail remaining", Archer interjected, standing up. "For it to be a proper alliance, you have to make its wording very clear."

 _Oh boy..._

"With this alliance, the two Servants Archer and Saber and the two Masters, Kai Reymeyer and Sanu-bri Falk, agree to cease all hostilities and to not raise any arms against each other. It is also forbidden to cause harm to an ally through any indirect means like supporting an enemy or deliberate negligence. The allies are to support one another in battle against the other teams in the Holy Grail War"

He paused, awaiting an answer from anyone who listened. Most shrugged or nodded. It was enough of an agreement for him.

"The alliance ends with the defeat and death of all five other Servants. After a remaining term of twenty-four hours after the death of the last other participant, hostilities can be resumed."

Kai agreed immediately. Saber nodded shortly thereafter, despite being slightly suspicious about why he made such a fuss about it. Only Sabrina remained unsure.

"Come on", Kai urged her. "We'll just clear the field beforehand, so there won't be any dark surprises."

"Only if Saber is completely sure", she looked at him, but the knight just grinned at her.

"Don't make such a face, petite lionne. It doesn't fit you. I can handle the likes of him any time."

"If you say so... then I agree."

Archer bowed approvingly.

"Then it is settled", he raised his hands to the sky as if in prayer. " **Hotep en Netscher - Divine Peace!** "

A sudden flash of light illuminated the living room. Saber jumped up immediately, his hand reaching after the pommel of his sword. But for some reason, he seemed pained and physically unable to draw Excalibur.

"What is this for mad sorcery?", he demanded, grinding his teeth in frustration.

A single scroll of paper, which curiously looked as if it consisted of numerous thin stripes glued together, had appeared where Archer had held his hands. He had used a Noble Phantasm. Right there. But much to Kai's amazement, it was neither a flashy sword, nor any other kind of weapon. It was an unrolled papyrus scroll, slowly floating down onto the table. Kai was able to see three different texts on it in three different languages. The first one was made of hieroglyphs, completely indecipherable for him. The second one was in something that looked like French, but wasn't quite French yet. He recognized the syntax and many of the words, but they were written vastly different than the French he learned in school. The third one was in German and it contained exactly the terms Archer had announced before.

"It is just a document to give more power to our alliance. The king is fortunate enough to have been one of the two signers of the oldest surviving peace treaty in history. It had enough impact upon the view of him that it became a Noble Phantasm he shares with the mighty Hattusili, may his name be blessed."

"You tricked us", Saber growled. "I can't even draw my sword anymore!"

"Only because you want to draw it with the intend of raising it against the king. The contract is in effect. You gave you approval to it", he turned to Sabrina, since she was not fuming with anger. "You may check it, Nab Sabrina. This Noble Phantasm only works with the consent of all affected parties. Of course it is also not allowed to add passages not included in the wording they gave consent to. It would cease to work if the king tried."

"And we just have to believe you this?", Saber groaned, while his Master grabbed the papyrus and read the German part.

She then gave it two Saber, who read the part in old French with a deep frown.

"Well, seems to be what you said...", he grumbled. "But still... I gave you my word as a knight to respect our alliance. You must doubt my honor if you prefer some scribbles and sorcery. I can't stand it."

"It was not the king's intention to stain the honor of his ally. Hotep en Netscher doesn't just enforce its contents upon the contractors, it strengthens both parties with the scroll generating mana by extracting it from its surroundings, equally supporting the king and his ally. After we used up some of our reserves in our inconclusive battle, it seemed to the king like a good idea to use it to replenish them."

Saber paused, staring at the paper as if what he said was just written on there.

"You are right, it boosts my regeneration. But... what if I just shred this sheet of papyrus to pieces? You have not added any clause to stop me from this."

"If the document is destroyed, the mana support ends, but the contract never ceases to bind until its final clause has been fulfilled. The king and the son of Sekhmet cannot attack each other anymore until every other participant in this Grail War has been defeated."

The knight stared into the distance, carefully putting the scroll back onto the table.

"You said it represents an alliance you made in life...", Saber said slowly.

"Between the king and the blessed king Hattusili III. of the Hittite Empire. It survived both of us, our children and even his own kingdom. The king regards it as still in effect, even after three thousand years", Archer proclaimed proudly.

"Three thousand years...", Saber echoed absentmindedly, before facing him with a serious expression. "So what if this Hattusili guy has been summoned into this age? Would you fight him?"

"The king honors the pacts he makes. Of course he would obey it, even if it meant his own death and forfeiting the grail."

Saber nodded, seemingly understanding.

"I see... and I think I can live with it. Yes, you might predate chivalry, but your sense of honor seems right", he began to grin. "You should have warned us before firing a Noble Phantasm, but your intention was rightful as well."

"Really?", Sabrina interjected doubtful. "It might have just reinforced our alliance, but it still reeks like trap to me."

"Petite lionne... It is wise of you to distrust a potential enemy, fearing the worst. But I had given my word before and would have been honor-bound to respect it. He just showed me he would have done the same, so our alliance was sealed even before he used his Noble Phantasm. This scrap of paper is just a little gimmick to write it down upon."

Kai shook his head.

"No, it's not. It is far more and absolutely perfect. I'm really liking this Noble Phantasm", he said, smiling widely.

"Why that?"

"Saber... up until now you seemed to think Noble Phantasms only have offensive purposes, that's why you wanted to draw your sword?"

"Well yes... most of them are weapons or abilities honed on a battlefield, so it seemed right for me to assume", the knight admitted sheepishly.

"Yes... most of them are meant to destroy. But Archer here has something far more powerful: A Noble Phantasm powered by cooperation! If we were still in conflict, it would be absolutely useless, but right here and now, recovering from the wounds you both took back at the school... it is our alliances' chance to prevail!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay, this chapter was all kinds of weird. At first I planned to end it exactly here with the alliance. But then, I thought to make them part only with a fragile truce and move the alliance to a later chapter if they really needed it. It would have ended then with Archer getting angry at Kai for not taking the Grail War serious enough. But somehow Kai decided to make the move right here and I as the author had to comply. I had also imagined to let Kai and Saber talk about the last one's identity, confirming the suspicions he had at the beginning of it, allowing me to publish Sabers character sheet here.

On the other hand... Who here has still any doubts about his identity? I mean... he wears heraldry!

I also imagine there will be angry people for Excalibur being his Noble Phantasm and yes, I know there can only be one Excalibur. But after I searched for the name of his sword and found that he called it indeed Excalibur, I couldn't help but include it as a callback to Arthuria. Of course it is a vastly inferior sword only linked to his legend and not to Arthurs, making it a C-ranked Noble Phantasm which just incidentally has the same name and the same purpose as the original.


	8. Chapter 7 - Simon

Authors Notes: Here we are again! And back to part two of Simon's day. Considering how long this chapter beceme, it doesn't really have to wonder anyone why I had to make a cut the last time.

* * *

Chapter 7 - Simon

It was already midday when they finally managed to leave the apartment. It didn't bother him all that much, since they all had a lot of fun. Roza told some of her more harmless anecdotes of her college years and the mischief they had to undertook in order to leave or return to the dormitory past a certain hour. She made Russia look a tiny bit antiquated in some of her stories, but Alexandra and Hendrik seemed to only connect that with the rural area she was from. Simon was at least glad she was avoiding to call the communist clubs she was a member of by name. That would have aroused suspicion if nothing else. Now at least Simon announced he was escorting Roza back to her own apartment so that she could get out of that Red Army costume she still had to wear.

"So what now?", Assassin asked the moment the door was closed behind them.

"We have to visit the park again", Simon said sullenly, taking the steps down. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that weird conflict you dragged me into."

Roza switched to her spirit form, still walking next to him. It was the last reminder to him that she wasn't quite human anymore, but at least they wouldn't earn confused stares for her uniform.

"I'm glad you stick to your decision from yesterday. Don't worry, they won't attack during the day and dismantling the circle won't be any problem for me."

"Good to know..."

 _At least one who can stay cheerful when it comes to it._

Despite doing his best to act normal around his friends, he was not able to forget the pictures of those dark creatures lurking in the shadow of the park, coming at them from all sides. Well that and the very real cuts and bruises which still hurt him with each step. He and Roza barely escaped with their lives and the thought that even now this trap was still active and that there are others who may have fallen into it and weren't as lucky as them... it was terrifying. They had to go back and disassemble it. But before that...

Only moments later Simon wandered through the inner streets of Einzbern, the ghost of her at his side.

"I don't think this is the direction to the park...", Roza stated.

"No, it isn't. The park will be crowded, so we have to prepare for that at first", he stopped in front of a fashion store he frequented occasionally. "We can't let you run around in that uniform of yours forever, can we? The story about the costume party only works once."

"Sure enough, I just haven't thought... well, I'm fine with it."

They entered the shop and since the shop assistant was busy with another customer, they just went straight to the women's wear. Simon just stood there, rather uncomfortable looking over the table with shirts and blouses, while Roza patiently waited next to him. After what could have been a minute of strange silence, he sighed.

"Okay, better look for yourself", he whispered, surrendering to the task.

"Really? I have no hands, mind you", she said, giggling.

"Then take on corporeal form, I don't care."

She made a quick sweep of the area to make sure nobody was looking into their direction and then materialized herself. Simon took a step back while she was searching with a frown on her face.

"For shop which advertises to sell new clothes those here are in pretty bad condition", she said after a while.

"It's just 'used look'. This is how people nowadays dress in order to look as if they...well, as if they did any hard work with it."

She had teased him the day before that she was from not so far a past, but in this moment Simon mused it was very likely she had never even seen a jeans before. But it was not the jeans itself which caused her frown. She grabbed one of it and put her arm for demonstration into its trouser leg, only for her fingers to reappear at a hole where the knees were supposed to be.

"'Used look'?", Roza said mockingly. "I call it 'torn'."

"Fair point", he said sheepishly, not knowing why anybody would buy jeans in this state anyway.

Simon then decided to let Assassin fend for herself and made himself seated on a bench near the cabins. It didn't took long for him to be bored to death, but it did take even longer for Roza to find something suitable and to disappear into the cabins. At least the shop assistant only threw a few confused glances at her and luckily didn't say anything about her costume. She should have said something about the clothes she chose though. When she returned from the cabins, she was rid of her green uniform with the blue skirt, but instead she wore... something. The blouse was far too wide, the skirt barely fitting to it and then there was this flower motif on it which reminded Simon for some reason of an old sofa.

 _God... she does cloth herself like my grandmother._

"How do I look?", she asked with a bright smile.

"Great", he replied dryly.

Roza grimaced.

"Wow, you really are the worst liar I've ever met."

He raised his hands in surrender. If he had a white flag, he would have waved it.

"Well, you expect me to judge you? Considering the passing of more than sixty years of fashion, I'm glad you even found anything."

"I know myself it's ugly and I've seen myself the women outside don't look like this, but it's the only thing I found without such a low neckline... If it just were 'used look', I wouldn't mind, but I can't believe girls nowadays would wear this", she said, an incredulous look on her face.

"Don't look at me, I'm not responsible for it...", Simon said miserably.

"Then... Why don't you just look for something that could let me pass as a sensible human being?"

"Me?", now it was his time to be aghast, he nearly fell off the bench. "Who am I to tell a girl how to dress?"

"Do you need help?", a female voice suddenly said.

Simon had barely realized the shop assistant had come up to them, a fake smile on her lips. He said a silent prayer for her timely arrival and said:

"Yes, yes... my friend here wants to make herself an outfit and would be glad if you could find something for her", immediately said.

"What do you have in mind?", she asked, turning to Roza.

She seemed a bit startled, unsure how to answer.

"She seeks something more conservative", Simon told the shop assistant.

The woman then eyed the clothes Assassin had chosen so far with a frown.

"I see..."

 _She is likely wondering why they even got those?_

She then hurried off together with Roza into another part of the shop. Simon leaned back and was just glad his help was not needed anymore. Twenty minutes later, both left with Roza wearing a brightly coloured green dress and Simon carrying a bag with two replacement outfits. The moment he saw her looking like this Simon was stunned. From one moment to the next she looked so much younger to him than he had initially estimated her age when she wore her uniform. He had thought she was older than him, but at this point, he wasn't quite sure about that anymore.

"Where is your uniform now?", Simon asked while they went into the direction of the park.

"Away. I don't need to keep it materialized anymore and I can call it whenever I need it to improve my stealth."

"More than by being invisible?", Simon asked back with raised eyebrows.

"The other Heroic Spirits have no problem seeing each other in this form... well, as Assassin I also have the ability to shield my presence from them, but this doesn't make me completely invisible to the naked eye."

Since they had not met any other Spirits besides those strange wolf familiars, Simon was not quite sure what to expect from those invisible 'enemies'. Roza was insanely proficient with her rifle, but who knew what weapons those others wore. This was a thought for a later day, Simon decided. Now it was time to defuse this crazy trap he triggered the day before. There were numerous people in the park, some couples having laid out blankets to do picnics, others were walking their dogs and a few were using the great weather to go jogging. The sun shone brightly upon them, everything seemed like a fine day to relax. Not for Roza and Simon, but they had to pretend anyway. At least the place opposite of the bench where they had their fateful encounter the day before was unoccupied when they arrived. And while some of the bushes and smaller trees were in terrible shape as if a storm had swept through the area, almost nothing else reminded of their first battle.

"It was somewhere around here", Roza said, kneeling down to the grass.

Simon did the same, brushing with his hands through the ground. He had to look very carefully, but there were indeed visible rifts in the ground. And something dark...

"Is this metal?", he asked with a frown.

Roza nodded, glanced to the sides that nobody was looking and suddenly a blue light shone in her right hand, rapidly materializing something that looked like a plain combat knife. Without further ado, she poked with it at the ground and soon freed a long piece of wire which was stuck deeply in the ground. Moments later she was pulling at it and the whole bend metal burst out of the ground, leaving the visible shape of a large part of the circle as a gash in the ground.

"Someone crafted this thing very carefully. Even the runic words are inserted into the dirt", Roza explained while she was busy cutting the wire into smaller pieces. "It seems only a carving was not enough, so they reinforced it with this."

"So pulling it out will permanently disable it?", Simon asked.

"Very likely."

She proceeded to get more and more parts of the metal wire out of the ground and Simon helped as best as he could. They were really deeply locked. And he could not help but wonder.

"I can't believe they only set a trap in the park. How likely is it someone triggers it by accident?"

"Quite unlikely actually. Except they modified the ritual so that more people get command spells."

"Still... There must be more. Is there any way we can make sure to disable them all?"

Assassin paused mid-movement, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Is there any place where I have a good view over the whole city?"

"We don't have any high building in the town, but there must be some of the taller business buildings at the main street", Simon guessed.

"Then lets go there, but I need a map and a pencil..."

He nodded and after dumping the wire in a nearby garbage bin, they headed off. First to buy a road map of Einzbern and its surroundings, then to the main street to find a building suitable for Roza. There was quite a commotion and they even passed a truck of the fire department darting through the street with roaring sirens.

"Can I ask why you want to go after those other traps? We already disabled the first one", Roza asked after a while.

Simon grimaced. He was not quite sure how to put it.

"It just... feels right. You told me we have to fight six other ghosts roaming the city. I don't know how many of those are in the same situation as we are. But we know one team is trying catch unlucky people unawares, so I can only assume this team went into this battle willingly and use their knowledge to their advantage", Simon scratched his head. "If we just destroy enough of their traps, we may be able to draw them out of hiding and take them out."

"You sound really pragmatic now", Roza replied grinning. "There is only one tiny problem with your plan: If you are right and this one is the strongest enemy we have to face... are we even able to just 'take them out'?"

"Still better than waiting until we are the only other team left for them to finish off...", he said, sighing.

"Huh, what's with that one?", Roza said suddenly, stopping in front of a particularly tall building.

Simon had never paid much attention to it, but it was a small hotel. Well, he had wondered why anyone needed one since Einzbern surely was the opposite of a holiday paradise and also wondered how it paid itself, but it never was of much concern to him. It had a walkable roof though, so he thought it could work for getting a view of the city.

"So you really do want the birds eye view of Einzbern?", Simon asked unsure. "Can you really find all the magic circles like this? Even those out of sight?"

"Hey, remember I'm a sniper? The grail for some reason decided to grant me minor clairvoyance. As long as I know what I have to look for, there will be no problems. And considering how far into the open the first trap was, they will likely choose public places we have no problem to visit."

"Sounds like a plan", he replied, honestly impressed. "Then lets put those sharp eyes of yours to use."

They entered the lobby and found a place devoid of life. Simon expected so much, but just walking to the elevator as if they belonged there would have been much easier if there had been distracting business. Instead the sole receptionist looked after them with a frown during their whole passing of the lobby. He never said anything, but Simon thought the confused stare meant him knowing they were not costumers. Only after the doors of the elevator closed, Simon allowed himself to breath again.

 _If anything goes wrong he'll know we were responsible..._ , he thought glumly.

They arrived at the highest reachable floor since the roof was personnel-only, but this seemed to be no problem for Roza who immediately headed towards the stairs. Simon followed and it seemed they managed to get to the top, at least until they were stopped by a solid steel door with a heavy looking padlock against any unauthorized people like them.

"Do you have to shoot it open now or what?", he asked, sounding as unsure about their trespassing as he was.

Assassin just shot him an incredulous look before she proceeded to grab it with her bare hand and ripped the padlock off.

"Or you could just do this...", he commented, gulping.

Roza opened the door and they finally arrived on the spacious roof. In the few seconds Simon was blinded by the burning sun Roza had somehow strapped her rifle onto her back and changed her clothes to her uniform, but surprises like these were hardly anything new to him at this point. He simply gave her the map she had ordered and let her sweep from edge to edge, scanning the city with a pair of very durable looking military binoculars she had summoned, only putting it down to make crosses on her map. Simon just followed her, silently watched her in her scouting work. From one moment to the next, the cheerful, smiling girl had entered a mode of serious professionalism. Simon realized with dread that the laidback time from before was over, now she was back in battle. And this impression enforced itself much more when they reached the last edge of the quadratic roof she had to overlook. Roza tensed and went to kneel down at the railings, signalling Simon with a hand gesture to do the same.

"What?", Simon asked, somehow feeling the need to whisper.

"Another Heroic Spirit...", she said quietly.

The words made him shiver despite the hot temperatures.

 _Has it already begun?_

He kneeled down to her left and looked into the street below where she had looked before. There were many people walking around, going on their everyday-business. Nobody seemed out of place.

"Is he in spirit mode?"

"Yes", she answered curtly, giving him her binoculars. "With these you will be able to see how I can see."

He took them without a word, but hesitated before he looked through them. It was a strange view. The street looked the same, but every building was a lot duller in colour, even a little bit transparent. And the people. Everyone down there was emitting a strange blue aura.

"I can't see him yet", he commented, worrying how one can watch the world like this for any amount of time without getting a headache.

Roza grabbed the binoculars and guided his eyes softly towards a part directly under them. And there he saw him. The aura was the first thing he noticed as it was glaringly more powerful and red. He looked as if on fire. The person himself wore golden armor with a blue wing motif, but was otherwise only lightly dressed. Simon could have sworn he saw the blue crown of him once in depictions of ancient pharaohs. He was talking with a boy several years younger than himself who carried a school bag and it looked as if they were arguing. This one must have been the Master.

"An Egyptian king and a boy", Simon wondered, glancing to his side. "He can't really be our enemy, can he?"

She had already grabbed her rifle and was watching the scene through the scope, obviously ready to shoot if ordered to.

"They are participants in the Grail War, so they are enemies, no matter how they entered", she said coldly. "They haven't noticed me but if they had, I'm sure they would attack."

Simon didn't like the tone in her voice at all.

"So you want to shoot him right now?", he said dreadfully.

"It is a possible course of action. We can't know if such an opportunity presents itself again to meet a Master and a Servant unaware."

"Wait... You mean to shoot the ghost, not the boy, are you?", he said, not wanting to doubt her.

Now it was Rozas turn to shoot a frowning glance at him.

"Yes it was. Or do you want me to take out the Master?"

The casual way in which she offered the death of this boy down there crept Simon out.

"No!", he hissed. "Of course not! It's just a boy..."

She looked into the scope again, a dark look on her face.

"Some of those I've killed were younger than him."

Simon paused. He felt his throat clench.

"This is no argument", he said darkly.

She glanced again at him, her cold expression faltering a bit. Roza seemed confused about his reaction.

"Taking out the Master is a common strategy in these wars, especially for the class of Assassin. Look, the damage my rifle causes is so small I doubt even a headshot could take out one of the stronger Servants."

"I won't allow it", Simon said slowly. "You and your ghost colleagues are already dead. If you want to kill each other all over again, do it. I won't stop you. But I can't just watch how someone who has his whole life in front of him just gets killed just because it is easier this way."

Roza seemed taken aback, looking at him with wide eyes. He maybe was too harsh in his words, but he was sure he had to make his point clear.

"I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put it that way..."

"It's okay... Let's just wait until they are gone and then go. We have a lot to do and as I said, it wouldn't do to take out other teams when it only causes to draw more attention to us."

She put down her rifle, seemingly unhappy about it all.

"Maybe you are right. The sound of my rifle would have also caused to much trouble for the bystanders down there. And even killing the Master could have been a bad idea."

"What do you mean?", Simon asked, sighing in relieve about the subsiding of tension.

"From what I can see of his light equipment and all, I believe the guy down there is Archer. If I am right, he has the Independent Action skill, so even if I shoot his Master, he can still exist for some time and go at us to avenge him."

"So... bad idea all around?"

She nodded grimly. He looked down through the binocular and saw that the red presence what might had been Archer had disappeared and the boy was slowly walking away.

"Let's go", he just said.

The rest of the day was a pretty busy affair. Roza had marked eighteen crosses on her map, equally dispersed everywhere in the city. They had to comb through all of it. Some where in parks like the first one, some were in abandoned buildings and two even on playgrounds where small children frequented. It disgusted Simon how far this invisible enemy was going to get easy pickings. The circles in soft ground were made of wire frames as well, so they only had to cut them to have them permanently destroyed. The others on solid ground were painted or sprayed, so out of lack of having brought their own paint Roza was forced to just demolish the floors with the butt of her rifle. They took out eight on this first day until the sun set and Simon decided to return home. But despite their success so far, the discussion on the roof had caused a bitter taste on his tongue and seemingly on Rozas as well since they only exchanged very few words during it all. Even after their arrival in the apartment Simon's turn at cooking went surprisingly uncommented, despite Rozas attempts to revert back to her usual cheerful self in her interactions with the Alexandra and Hendrik. Tobias was not around again, having only visited around midday and then disappeared, but his absence was nothing Simon really cared for.

"And tomorrow we do the same?", Roza asked after they were alone in his room again.

"Yes. Until we lured this bastard out, whoever it is", Simon declared, crouching down into his sleeping bag. "I can't really order you to keep an eye onto those circles in case he tries to reactivate them?"

"I could, actually... but only if you would come with me", she said, sitting on the bed.

This request was unexpected.

"Why that?", he asked back, startled.

"I've said yesterday that the enemy was still watching and I do believe he still does", she shrugged. "It could be just a feeling, but there was a certain bird familiar in the sky who had the same aura like the creatures which attacked us in the park."

"A spy?"

"Likely...", she said darkly. "If I leave your side, chances are you get attacked again."

If he had any last doubts their course of action was the right one, now they had vanished. Without Roza at his side, there was constant danger as long as this one enemy was around. He simply had to be taken out first.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow we continue our hunt... and then we're going to try set a trap."

He had to use every energy he had for this goal.

"Good night, Roza", he finally said, killing the light.

"Good night", she said quietly.

He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep. It was the second night after Rozas arrival. And the second night he dreamt of war.

 **Vitebsk, 1944**

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of artillery fire was audible. But the picture of the Soviet entrenchments was surprisingly unspectacular. It looked like the waiting game again. The game Roza had interrupted the last time with her sudden decision to look out for an enemy.

 _The enemy was not in sight this day. The part of the frontline our camp was facing was given up by the enemy long ago._

Roza was sitting at a camp fire together with Sasha, the rest of their division scattered throughout the whole area. Boredom was clearly written across their faces. A few moments later, Kalya arrived, sitting down next to them with a grave expression.

"What is it?", Roza asked.

"They are going to attack. Again. The 184th rifles are storming into the city to end the siege."

"That's good, isn't it?", Sasha asked unsure. "If we take the town we can move on."

"There is no 'we'", Kalya said bitterly. "They send the green boys, but our division is to wait behind the frontline to pick flowers or something."

"You're kidding", Sasha was aghast. "Who gives them support?"

"The artillery as it seems", Kalya commented, gesturing towards the air where the dreadful sounds of falling projectiles came from.

Roza slammed her fist into the ground, visibly angered.

"There will be many casualties", she said darkly. "Casualties we could prevent if we were deployed as well."

 _They would send everyone to take the town. Everyone but us. The general who recently took command of our division was not very fond of having an all-female sniper unit standing next to his men, so he decided to just let us sit out pretty much every major engagement. He argued with having to keep the moral of the troops, but nobody really bought it. He thought us some kind of parade unit which had to be dragged along to proclaim equality, but was unfit for actual battle._

Later that day, the field post arrived in the shape of a frail looking boy with special insignia who carried a thick bag. He went through the camp calling out the name of whomever letter he fished out of it next.

"Roza Shanina?"

Roza looked up, seemingly startled.

 _I never expected to hear my name. My friends back in Arkhangelsk wouldn't have anything important to write me, Fyodor had better things to do and well, my parents were still my usual parents, stubbornly sticking to their grudge. This way of thinking meant there was only one possible content for the letter._

Her face darkened when she stood up and went towards the deliverer. He must have realized as well, since he gave her a pitiful nod when he handed her the letter. She only had to look at the red star emblem to know the sender. Having ripped the envelope open she only flew with her eyes over the letter, only searching for the handwritten name filled into a gap of the machine printed standard form. And she found it.

"Pavel... you brave fool...", she whispered softly, crumpling the paper in her hand.

 _He had volunteered only a short time after Mikhail and Sergei. And now all three were dead. Three of the five sons my mother bore had to give their lives in this war while I was arguing with men who did not let me join the army and now with men who did not let me join the battlefield. Not anymore. I could not stand it. How many had to die while I was forced to watch? Had I not armed myself with my rifle to stop all these brave souls from dieing? I knew I could make a difference. Even without my unit._

The scene changed and now Roza was running through the ruined remainings of a street, her rifle at her side. The artillery fire had thoroughly wrecked every building, the scene itself was devoid of life, but gunfire was to be heard from everywhere. It got louder and louder. She heard muffled shouts, orders and cries. The battlefield had to be close nearby. Roza found a building with three floors which looked as if in comparably better condition than the rest. Breathing heavily from her unauthorized escape, she entered through a collapsed wall and paused a bit, scanning the area for intact steps to one of the upper floors or useful cover for her hunt.

"Someone on the run should watch over ones shoulder far more often than you did", a voice behind her called out.

Roza flinched and whirled around, but was able to stop herself from raising her rifle at the last moment. The voice belonged to Sasha. She and Kalya entered the building shortly after her.

"What are you doing here?", Roza hissed.

"Taking care of you, what else?", Kalya smirked. "You really shouldn't join the battle without backup."

"And we can't really let you take all the glory, can we?", Sasha added with a vicious smile.

Roza was taken aback, obviously happy about their presence, but she replied regardless:

"I should order the two of you to get back. I'm still your commanding officer, you know."

"A commanding officer who acts exemplary by disobeying her own orders", Sasha stated mockingly. "You can't order us anything anymore."

"If I get reprimanded, it is entirely my fault, but you really shouldn't disobey orders for me", she looked at them helplessly, but it was useless.

They didn't look as if they would ever falter. They were as headstrong as Roza herself. And this must have been the reason why she just shook her head and surrendered.

"I think this truly makes us the 'Vagrant Three' now", Roza grinned.

"'Vagrant Three? Heh, I like it", Kalya replied.

They didn't need any more words. It was decided. What had been solely the battle of the 184th had now become theirs.

"Haltet die Straße!", they heard a male voice crying out nearby. "Lasst niemanden durch!"

It was accompanied by the sound of machine gun fire.

"Fascists", Kalya realized with wide eyes.

"Up, to the upper floors!", Roza ordered curtly, pointing towards the nearby stairs she had found.

The two other soldiers readied their rifles and followed her. Soon enough they had dispersed themselves among the rubble, each one taking a good position to overview the street below. A squad of Red Army soldiers in their light green uniforms had taken cover in front of them, cowering behind stone debris under the pressure of relentless machine gun fire. Some of them were already taken out, looking like motionless puppets on top of their own blood. One other was wounded, whimpering endlessly, holding his bleeding wound while the rest watched him die with horror written across their faces. Roza gritted her teeth. They weren't going anywhere like this. Roza lay on her rifle and aimed through the scope at the man operating the machine gun. One shot into the heart later he tumbled backwards like a lifeless lump of flesh. The rattling of the gun ceased immediately.

"One black...", Roza whispered.

"Scharfschütze!", the assistant next to him called out, but it was the last he ever said.

"Two black...", Roza whispered now, ejecting her second bullet casing with a pull on the lever.

The machine gun was now unmanned, but the battle was not over yet. There were half a dozen German soldiers in their grey green uniforms holding the position, occasionally showing up to shoot into their general direction. The Soviet soldiers below them still cowered down, unable to use the situation to their advantage. Several bullets slammed into the stonework near her own position. They were not well aimed, so it was entirely possible they were afraid to share the fate of their machine gunners. Entirely justified since one of them was hit shortly thereafter in the shoulder and crouched back behind the building he was hiding at. It was not entirely sure whether Kalya or Sasha hit him, Roza was too concentrated to care. She was trying to hit one soldier on the other side of the street, but he was too quick and too careful. She wasted three bullets until she got him in the leg with her last one.

"Close enough, one red", she whispered, another bullet wheezing closely past her head.

She heard the impact somewhere in the ceiling, but decided not to care. The Germans obviously knew where they were there. Roza changed the window to the one to her left. The soldiers below were still not returning the fire and it grated her. It must have been the pitiful cries of the wounded one. They were frozen in fear.

"Move, damnit!", she called down, loosing herself in the moment.

Roza just wanted to make them shoot back. But instead, one of the soldiers stood up and ran. Towards the unmanned machine gun. The others remained unmoved. It was suicide.

"What a brave fool", she whispered, before calling out to the other two of the Vagrant Three. "Give him cover fire!"

She herself opened the bullet chamber of her rifle and reloaded it with a five-rounds stripper clip she hectically pulled out of her pocket. Her silent prayer to the bullets not getting stuck in the magazine seemed to be successful, since the bolt slammed back into position with its usual clicking sound without any problems. She looked back through the scope and through poor chance of luck saw the shape of one German soldier leaning out of a window. He fired one shot at the charging soldier and missed. Roza gave him no second chance. She ejecting her first bullet casing with a swift pull at the bolt while watching the grey figure stumble and fall onto the street. She aimed at a second hiding soldier and successfully drove him back behind his cover before he was able to shoot. It was this moment the charging boy threw himself behind a pile of chalk white rubble, throwing a grenade into the German position in the same motion. The blast was even perceptible at her position, sending a slight trembling through the ruined floor. The whole scene in front of him was then engulfed by a thick cloud of dust, the enemy fire ceased and even Sasha and Kalya stopped taking aim. Roza scanned the whole area and especially looked at the collapsed building next to them. The shattered walls of the once tall structure had poured into the street in front of it, forming what looked like a small bridge toward the other side and covering the right flank of the Soviet troops in front of her. It was not much of a height difference between their floor and this makeshift bridge. Roza made a dash for it.

"Watch my back!", she called out before jumping out of one of the shattered window frames onto the rubble below.

It slightly gave way, some of the rubble sliding to the ground, but she kept her feet and carefully walked towards the building on the other side of the street. Roza Shattered a window there to unlock it from the inside and then opened it to crawl inside without cutting herself to pieces. Her stunt proved successful since she was able to pass the abandoned room and take up position at the other end, having a far better view onto the devastated street below. The dust slowly subsided. The single soldiers was still at the same position, keeping his head down. From this point of view, she was also able to see the former German position which was reduced to shattered bricks and mangled corpses. There was not a sign of life to see anymore. And when she looked down to her right, there was the position of the soldier she had wounded in the leg before. Much to her surprise, he was still there, unable to get away from the fight. He leaned on the wall directly under her, bleeding heavily and having thrown his rifle down. It seemed like a difficult situation. Roza could have went down to try and capture him, but that would have meant to give up her position get into the open field, possibly attracting the attention of enemies who still lurked around somewhere. Luckily, the decision was already made by the soldier she was covering. He had seen the German, scrambled to his feet and approached him with raised rifle. The man calmly watched him and raised his hands.

"Nicht schießen! Ich bin erledigt."

The soldier stepped closer, still pointing at him with his rifle.

"Stand up!", he ordered.

The German just stared at him in cofusion.

"Stand up!", he repeated more aggressively, making a raising motion with his left hand.

"Mein Bein...", the German grumbled, but still tried to climb up the wall regardless.

It was this moment Roza saw him in the doorframe of one of the buildings opposite the street. A single grey figure leaning out there with a raised gun. Roza took aim within the fraction of the second before he was able to shoot the single Soviet soldier. The bang echoed through the streets. The wounded German soldier threw himself back onto the ground, holding his helmet with both hands to protect himself. The Soviet soldier flinched as well and raised his rifle towards the window above, only the recognize her red shoulder straps and whirl around. Just in time to watch the dead enemy fall into the street. Scratching the back of his head, he turned back to Roza.

"Uh... thanks."

"Bring him inside!", Roza ordered immediately and then rushed the steps down herself.

When she reached the ground floor the soldier was just entering, supporting the prisoner on his shoulder while he was hobbling on one leg until he was ordered to sit down on a wall. When the eyes of the German fell on Roza, he seemed aghast.

"Na klasse, ich wurde von 'nem Mädel erledigt."

Roza ignored him and turned to the Red Army soldier.

"What is wrong with you, charging forward like some kind of maniac?", Roza said to him with a frown.

"You said move...", the boy said sheepishly.

He was around her age, a slender youth with brown hair and grey eyes.

"To come out of your hiding and return fire, not to get at them in melee", despite the situation, she was close to laughing. It might have been the adrenaline. He seemed as amused as she was.

"Ich will euch zwei ja nicht stören, aber ich blute hier", the German soldier continued his babbling.

„Shut up!", Roza and the boy yelled simultaneously, causing him to raise his hands in surrender.

Only a few seconds later the rest of his unit entered one by one through the door. They handed them their prisoner and he was brought back behind the frontline while the soldiers remained there, planning the next step of their advance. Sasha and Kalya joined them soon enough, making the Vagrant Three complete again.

"I didn't know general Gorodovikov was deploying his sniper corps", their officer addressed them soon after the situation had calmed down.

"Uh... sure. You wouldn't mind if we attach ourselves to your company? Shielding your troops from above?", Roza said to him.

"We were pretty much in a pinch until you arrived. How could I deny?"

So it was decided, but before they left, the boy from before took her to the side.

"You didn't sound very convincing", he mused. "Have you snuck out of the camp or something?"

"Well... let's just say things could get a bit ugly after our return."

"I see. So you were playing the hero to make your presence worthwhile."

Roza rolled her eyes, but could not help to find a kernel of truth in his words.

"Maybe. I cannot allow you to be the only hero of the day... You were?"

"Misha", he said.

"Ah, Misha? I'm Roza. Nice to meet you!"

 _The fighting continued for three days. And as promised, we Vagrant Three shielded Misha's unit as best as we could. Their losses were few. And the attack a total success. Despite all this, when the dust had settled, the general ordered me into his makeshift headquarter inside the city._

Their base of operation was a strange place. It was barely recognizable, but due to the size and the markings on the ground Roza guessed it was once a gym. Now everything was crammed with crates of supply. Some with the red star of the Soviet Union, some with the black swastikas of the enemy. Spoils of war as it seemed. Roza entered one of the small rooms at the side where general Gorodovikov had set up his bureau. It was the academy all over again.

"You wanted to speak with me, Sir."

"Ah, Sergeant Shanina. Great you obeyed that order at least...", he the heavy, bald man grunted. "So what are your excuses?"

"None. Only the request to spare the soldiers Yekimova and Petrova. They only followed their commanding officer", Roza replied coldly.

"That's even more inexcusable for you. How do you think I could hold this army together if every officer of mine would ignore orders and charge headlong into battle? I should make you an example for others as a warning, girl."

Roza gulped, but remained at attention. She knew she did the right thing. But the following thing was the most strange. The door behind her opened and a tall officer with a uniform full of medals entered. She recognized his rank immediately. And the general did as well.

"Marshal Krylov?", the general stood up from his table.

"Am I to late?", he said.

"For what, Sir?", Gorodovikov asked with wide eyes.

"To change the position of this sniper squad of yours."

"Sir?"

"I have read the reports of several of my officers who had fought to take the town", he turned to Roza. "You made quite a show out there. They were impressed."

"Thank you, Sir", Roza replied, trying not to turn red.

The marshal then grinned.

"I think you can stop sending me letters now. My secretary has already given you your own file."

Now it was time for her to turn red.

 _In the days before my unauthorized escape into the city I tried to get moved to a reconnaissance company. I did as I always did, I wrote letters. Many of them. To Marshal Krylov and after one especially frustrating day even to Stalin himself._

Roza was not entirely sure what exactly had happened, but when she left the bureau, all charges and the threat of a court martial had vanished. Misha was standing next to her, a broad grin on his face. Her eyes narrowed.

"Are you responsible for this?", she asked, incredulous.

"Not really. I might have said some words to my commanding officer about your situation. Sorry, it seems you can't really trust to keep something a secret, can you?"

He escorted her outside, where they wandered through the camp they had set up in the centre of the town.

"Thanks... court martial would have been really bothersome", she admitted.

"Hey, you saved my life more than once. I somehow have to start making up for that."

"So that's it, you don't want to be indebted to a girl?"

"Hey, hey. That's what you say now..."

They then fell silent and watched the picture of the ruined city in front of them.

"It somehow feels like a hollow victory", she heard herself saying.

"Why that?"

"So many lives lost... for what? A pile of rubble? A few crates? What good is this city anymore? Nobody can live here."

Misha sighed.

"Houses can be rebuilt. People will live here again. After the war. You see this marketplace we are standing in? Imagine it in a few years. All the shops will be open again, it will attract the vendors with their market stands again and families will stroll through those streets with their children", he gave her a gentle smile. "It was not a hollow victory. We have just regained a piece of future."

 _He sounded so confident. I wanted to believe him. No, I believed him. I had done the right thing. And for the time being, I thought I had made a difference._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Simon awoke in the midst of night, his body sticky from sweat. He had awaited another dream of war, but he was still unprepared for those episodes. Simon wondered how much of her life he still had to witness. He peeled himself off the sleeping bag and silently went to the computer, carefully trying not to wake up Assassin, who was still sleeping softly.

 _I wonder why I didn't think of this earlier._

He sat there and looked her up. Roza Shanina. The Wikipedia entry was quite small, but he found several fansites. He read of several streets, awards and even a museum named in her honor. But he was much more interested in her biography anyway. She was known as the Unseen Terror. Not a word he found of the Vagrant Three. Then he read the date.

 _28.01.1945, killed in action in Eastern Prussia, age 20._

He felt as if the temperature dropped a bit.

 _She is younger than me_ , he realized aghast.

She had to go through so much and was stripped of her life in so early an age. He knew that was the result of war, but he found it still so unfair.

"What are you looking at?", Roza asked, standing behind him.

Simon's heart stopped for a beat.

"Nothing", he declared, minimizing the window in his panic.

"You really should use your wish to make yourself able to lie to save your life...", Assassin groaned, giving him a chiding look. "That was a picture of me, wasn't it?"

Sheepishly he restored the page, showing her his findings.

"Only a bit of research about the Unseen Terror of Eastern Prussia."

Her face fell, her initial playfulness immediately faltering.

"Don't use that name, please", she said softly.

"It's just the title the press gave you for your accomplishments", Simon stated with a frown.

"Don't use it, please", she said again more strongly, enough to give him pause. "I accomplished nothing, they just embellished everything to make better stories of it. To raise the moral and so on. It embarrasses me if you call me by a title I don't deserve."

Simon gulped, unable to overhear the sadness in her voice.

"Here is something written about fifty-nine confirmed kills. Aren't you proud of that?"

Roza stepped backwards, letting herself fall down on the edge of the bed, her head downcast.

"So this is how it is", she said, grimacing. "I can't really blame you for thinking so."

"What?", he replied, suddenly feeling like an utter idiot.

 _What have I said to irritate her like this?_

"You must take me for a complete monster, isn't it like this?"

He was taken aback.

"I would never... What makes you think so?", Simon said carefully.

"Don't deny it. I've seen your face today. When I talked about the men I've killed, you were terrified", she didn't even look at him, only to the ground.

"Terrified is too strong a word. Yes, I admit, I found it a bit unsettling. But only because this whole grail thing is not worth to murder some innocent boy, no matter whether you call it a war or not. ", he grimaced, the whole situation made him feel uneasy. "Such coldness didn't suit you. I know you are a good person at heart."

"You think so? It doesn't change the very fact I killed people and would do so again. You have every reason to be frightened of me", her lips formed a bitter smile. "Especially considering what you are. I give you that, you are good in pushing it to the back of your mind, but you do know I've spend a fifth of my life killing Germans. Maybe some of them were ancestors of yours. How could you not fear or hate me for that?"

Simon leaned back in his armchair, rubbing his temples. They were both sitting there in the darkness of the room, only illuminated by the light of the computer monitor. It was a strange scene, but he found her question even stranger.

"Maybe, maybe not", he said after thinking about what he truly felt. "I don't think it matters, really. It was war. You had to kill. You were a soldier. There is nothing wrong with that. In war soldiers have to kill or get killed, isn't it like this? How can I hate someone who only did what she had to do?"

Roza shook her head, continuing to smile bitterly during it all:

"Spoken like a true civilian. No. You are wrong. About everything. War is not so simple. I hated. I hated the Germans and still do. Do you really think I could observe someone's last moments through my scope, ending his life with the pull of a trigger without hate? I hated every single one of them. For invading my country. For killing my brothers. For killing so many of my comrades. For bombing cities full of innocents. Hate kept me going. You really think some kind of valiant sportsmanship was part of my hunt? I can't blame you, I've heard the same stories about duelling snipers all the time. But there never was any truth to them. I never pitied anyone I killed and not once thought they didn't deserve it. And I was surely not silently congratulating anyone who was able to trick me, because it just made me furious to not have ended their lives", she paused, taking a deep breath, her green eyes fixing the floor between them. "If I had been able to face the person who killed me - it was likely just some boy operating a piece of artillery - I would have clawed his eyes out. There is no glory in killing and dying, especially like this. There is only ugly hate."

Simon was silent for a while, contemplating her words carefully. There was a lot of anger and fatalism in Roza's voice and he wanted to answer to that. It was only difficult for him to find the right words.

"You say you would have killed the man responsible for your death?", he finally said.

"The way I died was not very pretty, so yes, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second", she replied coldly.

"Yes, sure. But this was sixty-one years ago. The war is over. Let's just assume said soldier has survived the war. Let's assume he still lives somewhere as an old man. Then let us assume we could find out his identity and go visit him, speak to him face to face. Would you kill him?"

She raised her eyebrows, obviously confused.

"I... I don't think so...", she said, half a whisper.

"Why not? You said you hate him", Simon wouldn't let her off the hook, he was leaning forward, studying her reaction carefully.

"It would have no point..."

"Because the war is over", Simon added, nodding in agreement. "Visiting an old man just to kill him would be murder. This is the difference between sixty-one years ago and today. You wouldn't commit a murder and that's why I think you are a good person."

Roza seemed thoughtful, but at the end only shook her head.

"I can't believe I let myself berate by some German boy. As I said, I may have killed some of your ancestors. You should at least be worried about the possibility. Even if I myself was not the one pulling the trigger, I fought your country together with those who certainly did. I've learned from the Grail what had happened after my death. My country prevailed and your people suffered occupation and expulsion like mine before."

Simon took a deep breath. He was not looking forward to repeat the same arguments again. He rolled closer up with the armchair, placing himself directly in front of her to make Roza unable to look away.

"I think I know now why you might think I should be on the side of my grandparents. But let me tell you this, because my grandparents never were in the position to do so: Thank you."

Roza opened her mouth and closed it again. She was staring at Simon with wide eyes.

"What?", she said startled.

"I'm just thanking you", he repeated, smiling. "I just have the feeling that in your days everybody around you was too focused on talking about duty to properly do it. Thank you. For all your sacrifices. For all you did to achieve victory."

"Why would you thank me for killing your ancestors?", Roza said incredulously.

"Haven't you noticed? You were now living in Germany for two days, so you should have! You've seen the city I live in, you've joked around with Alexandra and Hendrik and you have learned how we study at the university and try to make the most of our living. Do you really think we could live such a carefree life if Nazi-Germany won the war? You really think I could ever honestly root for a regime that deported and killed its own people simply for not fitting into its warped ideological or racial ideal? I never lived in these times, so I can't know how it is to spend your days under a totalitarian government and I can never know whether I had adjusted myself to it to save my hide or opposed it and lived in fear. I only know that I grew up in a democratic country with all liberties I can possibly get and would never ever want to miss any of them. I can only thank you and all who fought alongside you for that. Your sacrifices not only saved your own countries, but liberated mine as well."

Silence befell the dark room. Simon had said everything he wanted to say. And Roza accepted his version with a small nod.

"So...", he reached his hand out to her. "Can we please return to being allies again?"

She was just staring at it, her mouth forming a weak smile:

"Now you are just silly. We never stopped being allies."


	9. Chapter 8 - Sabrina

Chapter 8 - Sabrina

 **Palais de la Cité Paris, 1173**

The voices of four laughing boys echoed through the hall of the court. They thought they were men, but they were all but boys. Saber was among them, a sixteen years old boy towering above of the other ones when they had raised their swords in salute to each other.

"Let's swear it!", his older brother Henry spoke. "We raise our arms here and now and we will never take them down until the tyrant is disposed!"

"I swear it!", the other three replied cheerfully, almost as if it was a game.

Three of them were dressed in crimson cloaks like Henry himself. The young Saber was one of them. His proud red beard was only a golden stubble, but his features and his warm smile was all the same. His fifteen years old brother Geoffrey was the third of the young boys who were not only red clothed but also red-headed.

 _We had planned day and night. We had send out our messengers while we were busy planning how to share our spoils like the brothers we were. Henry was the first to take up arms after our father took lands of his and gave them to the one brother who was absent in our traitorous meeting. My dear mother convinced me and Geoffrey to travel to Paris and swear him allegiance. It never felt like treason. And even when recalling it today, it doesn't feel like it ever was. Henry did not lie, our father was a tyrant who did as he pleased with his vassals. Disposing him was justice. We thought us the heroes of this story and we would let God alone decide if we were right in our assumption._

The fourth of the young conspirators was not like the others. His cloak was blue with golden lilies. His sigil was the same as his father's. And his father was the old knight who had watched the boys playing at war with curious eyes during it all. A knight and king, he was Louis VII of France and their most powerful ally. Philip however was much like the others. A boy with easy smiles and a certain cunning when it came to the politics of his realm. He had soon befriended all of the brothers.

 _Even then, we were more than four people. I brought Poitou and Aquitaine to our cause. Henry had not only his large retinue of knights but also Flanders, Boulogne and Blois. Even the king of Scotland joined our forces while we spoke. With the blessing of the king of France we felt like we could conquer the world. This was how legends were born._

The scene changed to the young Saber entering a chapel. A lavishly decorated wooden cross was placed on the altar. In front of it was the old Louis, kneeling in prayer. It was a strange picture since Louis had donned his old armor with the blue surcoat and a beautifully decorated sheath placed on the ground next to him. When Saber had passed the rows of benches and stepped to the king's side, the man rose. He was by all means not an old man, barely having passed fifty years, but he was past his prime, his face full of wrinkles and his once muscular body having lost many of the muscles he once must have sported. He looked somehow sunken into the chain mail, the rings formed wrinkles as well. Wrinkles of steel shimmering in the light of candles.

"You... wanted to speak to me, your majesty?", Saber spoke carefully.

"Ah, young prince. Indeed, I wanted to speak with you in private", the man addressed him, watching his every reaction with clever eyes.

Saber seemed wary.

"I have to warn you, your majesty. I have no secrets to my brothers", he replied.

The implied assumption of the king trying to make him turn against his co-conspirators was clearly to see, but he still avoided to speak it plainly as not to do his host injustice if he was wrong. But king Louis reacted with a mocking smile.

"You don't trust me?", it was more a statement than a question.

"You... you are my ally. I will fight at your side in the battles to come. I just..."

"Your mother told you not to trust me, is it that?", he crossed his arms, his amusement about it all making the young Saber even more uncomfortable.

"Yes...", he sheepishly admitted.

The French king hung his head in an overtly exaggerated manner, sighing.

"It was to be expected. I see Eleanor hasn't changed... yes, she is a woman who does not forget."

 _I should have mentioned it earlier, before my mother married my father, she was the wife of Louis. He divorced her on the grounds of too close a kinship, but it bugged me that I never got her version of the events. She avoided the subject of her first marriage, but I could not help but notice her spiteful tone when she prepared me for my travel to Paris._

"She... she never told me...", he said, unsure if he was the right person to ask it.

Louis considered for a moment.

"You know I was a crusader."

"Of course...", he seemed wary about the sudden change of subject, but his eagerness about the subject got the better of him. "While you sadly never reached the goal of your quest, I heard you fought very bravely."

"You do me great honor by saying this. Sadly Eleanor does not share this opinion, she calls me craven."

Saber looked taken aback. He protested vigorously:

"But you were a knight who took the cross! You risked your life not for your own ambitions, but for the sake of the whole Christendom. Nobody forced you to do it, so how can it be craven?"

The king looked at him with sad eyes.

"Oh, how I envy your youthful naivety. No, there was someone who forced me. I, myself for one... and Eleanor. Of course I had my own reason. Being king and being a pious knight doesn't combine well. I did deeds I had to do to defend my realm, but which greatly disturbed me nevertheless. Deeds which I was sure brought me into the disgrace of God. Therefore I took the cross to atone", his severe expression softened a bit when he chuckled. "All things considered I should have taken a safer destination for my pilgrimage than Damascus. Many good man died for the sins I committed. This is not how it should have worked."

"And what has my mother to do with it?"

"Oh, Eleanor is a very special woman, I am sure you know as well. Beautiful, intelligent and dangerous with her fiery temper. She wanted to help her favourite uncle, Raymond de Poitiers. His position was lost, but he couldn't see it. He was so focused on reclaiming what was his by rights that he ignored the reality of the strong Saracen presence that made reclaiming Antioch futile. She was furious when I abandoned the good cause then... and never forgave me after Saladin removed Raymond's head from his shoulders."

The young Saber was silent then. Thinking about what he was trying to tell him.

"Alas, young prince. This was not why I wanted to speak with you...", the king of France then said. "You gave your brother wise counsel today when you told him which castles he had to take to control the Normandy. A counsel that could prove crucial to the early stages of the war. You have great potential as a tactician."

"I was just stating the obvious", the young Saber replied. "Henry likely would have proposed the same if he weren't so focused on how to divide his lands after the war."

"But he wasn't. You were the one who kept a cool head. I am sure you will be a great commander... and an even better knight."

Saber shifted uncomfortably.

"Your words honor me...", he said unsure.

"I was just stating the obvious", Louis chuckled. "Now then. I take it you were taught in arms?"

"Yes, my lord. I squired in Aquitaine. I haven't fought at many tournaments, but I can defend myself reasonably well with the lance, the sword, the axe, the bow and the crossbow."

"I see. I think it is time. Your cause is just and noble. If you accept, I would like to complete your vow and make you more than a warrior for yourself and your brother. I would like to let you fight for the glory of God and the entire Christendom."

He went to the ground again to pick up the sword which lay at his feet. The rings of his chain mail rattled softly while Saber stared at him in utter amazement. He then went to his feet.

"You would do me a great honor, greater than I can possibly express with mere words."

The fatherly smile of Louis never changed. He drew his blade. It was good steel, but old as the royal knight himself. Its beauty was tarnished by the bites and scratches of other blades and it was slightly bent. Saber saw the golden cross at its pommel and realized it was not just one of many blades in the possession of the king, but the sword he himself wielded on his crusade.

"I expected you would say this. Actually I thought it only fitting that a young man with your qualities and so pure a soul would receive his blessings from a king instead of one of your mother's household knights", he chuckled again. "Isn't it all about symbolism when it comes to chivalry?"

Saber never replied. He just stared at the ground, his eyes wide open in expectation. Then the king's expression became serious again.

"Well then. You knelt down as a prince, but even a prince is just a simple man in the eyes of God. Come now, speak the words with me", he placed the old sword on softly on his left shoulder. "I hereby swear that I shall believe the teachings of God and observe the directions of his Church."

"I hereby swear that I shall believe the teachings of God and observe the directions of his Church", Saber echoed awestruck.

"I hereby swear to treat all of God's creation with respect, I vow to protect the weak and innocent", he placed the sword on Saber's right shoulder.

"I hereby swear to treat all of God's creation with respect, I vow to protect the weak and innocent", young Saber's voice trembled, he sounded like the boy he was.

"I hereby swear to love my country and perform my feudal duties if they are not contrary to the laws of God", Louis tipped his left shoulder.

He repeated the words without thinking.

"I swear to make war upon the enemies of God, to never recoil in battle and know no fear", he tipped the right shoulder.

He swore it with all his heart.

"I swear to never lie and to always be faithful to the oaths I swore in the eyes of God", the left shoulder.

He swore it, sure to never regret it.

"I swear to be generous to the poor and merciless to the unjust", the right shoulder.

Saber's heart raced, he spoke the words like in a dream.

"I hereby swear that I shall be the champion of Good, to fight Evil and Injustice wherever I go", the left shoulder.

He swore it and it felt truly like in a legend.

"And now it is done. Raise now, young prince. Raise as a knight, Sir Richard of Aquitaine!"

The man who was about to become Saber rose, pride and awe sparkling in his eyes.

 _I rose as a hero. That's what I thought back then. I took this vow and made it my knightly ideal. But I was so focused on my rise to knighthood that I had completely forgotten the warning he had hidden in our earlier talk about the crusades. I was young and bold, who could blame me for taking an ideal as reality? But reality was different. And I was soon about to find out._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

"So it is decided. We both try to look out for other teams and inform each other about everything that is happening", Sanu-bri Falk finally declared after an hour of discussing their further plans for the Grail War.

She and Saber had escorted their unexpected guests back to the front door. They had pretty much worked out everything to get their alliance going, even exchanged numbers so they were able to call each other to help if it was necessary. Now Sabrina needed a bit time to think about all that had happened this day and collect herself while Kai himself seemed also eager to go on his own hunt.

"Ah, there is one thing left...", Saber said while they were at it.

Kai and his pharaoh guy stopped, watching the knight curiously. Saber himself looked down upon the boy, his grin looking more thoughtful than usual.

"Archer said that you told him my identity. Is it true that you already got me?"

Kai hesitated, scratching the back of his head.

"It was just a wild guess", he replied. "I actually don't know whether I am right or not."

Sabrina watched the scene warily. If it went after her, he should have stopped by now and left the subject at that. But in these past few days of adventuring together with the medieval hero she had quickly learned how wilful he was when he wanted to get something he wanted, be it a battle or a certain information. If she wanted to stop him from inquiring, she had to argue with him and she dared not to argue in front of potential enemies. Alliance or not, these were the rules of how the game was played. They shouldn't show themselves openly disagreeing on something.

"Go on, tell me. Who do you think I am?", he asked with a proudly raised chest under his chain mail.

"Fine... Please don't laugh if it turns out to be completely off. But I do think you are Richard Lionheart."

Saber's face grew serious.

"What makes you think so, boy?"

"I have actually not much to back my claim up. It's only that I've seen your heraldry before and while I have no idea which house it represents, I am pretty sure it was in the context of medieval England. And when I saw the crown you wear upon your helmet, Lionheart is pretty much the first name I get when I think about an English king who fought like a knight."

Both fell silent by then. Sabrina saw how Saber thought about it with a grim expression.

"But he uses Excalibur", she interjected, trying to salvage the situation. "You can't be absolutely sure that the connections you made are right."

"I know", he just said and the way he showed himself being unsure was a great relieve for Sabrina.

"Plantagenet", Saber then said.

"What?", asked Sabrina and Kai in unison.

The knight pointed with his left thump to the two lions which were depicted on his chest.

"Plantagenet is the name of my house. You got me, boy."

Kai looked surprised, his pharaoh guy looked as stoic as ever and Saber was unusually serious.

"Really?", asked the boy.

"Of course... How could I lie to my ally who proclaims that the glory of the Cœr de Lion reaches into so far a future and is still so well renown that a glance on my personal sigil is enough to give my identity away."

"Well, you wear heraldry...", he said sheepishly. "Isn't it kind of made to be recognizable?"

"It is, it is. But do you really think I was able to recognize each and every knight and lord of any foreign kingdom through the sigil alone? No... only the ones with the most renown", he grinned broadly.

"Fine, fine. We'll see us tomorrow at school...", Sabrina then ended their discussion and shoved their unexpected guests as politely as possible out of the door.

When they were gone, she finally allowed herself to openly sigh.

"What were you thinking you were doing?", she demanded angrily, leaning with her back against the door.

"I don't think I understand...", the crimson knight replied with a frown.

"He was doubting his own words", she explained grimacing. "There was no need to give up your true name."

It was obvious to her that Saber himself was as annoyed about her suggestion as she was about his openness.

"I'm beginning to regret having told you about this rule. You take it far too seriously", he crossed his arms. "They've already seen Excalibur and the only thing they can do with the information of my name is studying my strategies on the battlefield. Considering how different you have to approach duels like these, especially when you realize how warped my abilities are due to my elevation to a Heroic Spirits, they won't gain anything from it."

"Sure. But we still don't know the pharaoh's name and don't know whether he has more dangerous means at his disposal."

Much to her surprise, Saber was cracking up in laughter after that. Sabrina's eyes narrowed. Was he laughing about her? She didn't like it either way.

"What?"

"Haven't you listened, petite lionne? When he explained his Noble Phantasm, he mentioned a certain Hatussili of the Hittite Empire. If you need his name so badly, just look up who forged an alliance with him."

Sabrina took a deep breath. She knew that. She might have only listened with half an ear because she was so focused on that stupid papyrus, but she had heard the pharaoh talking about his time.

"You still didn't need to say it. You only gave away an advantage, no matter how small."

Saber didn't argue back. He followed her back into the living room where she threw herself onto the couch. It was just a crazy day to top the craziest week of her life off. Staring at the ceiling Sabrina was contemplating what had happened. How she was nearly eaten by some magical beasts, how she met Richard and he declared she was now participant in a magical deathmatch. And now how she accidentally contributed to the destruction of her own school. Especially the last one was pretty jarring to her. She had seen how Saber quickly put down those creatures with swift strokes and he was certainly not mowing down the nearby forest back then. That's why she was just all the more startled how destructive a real fight between Servants turned out to be.

 _When we face our next enemy, we will have to use a remote location._

She looked to her side. The papyrus scroll of their alliance still lay on the table. A simple document, but it a had a slight otherworldly glow to it, marking it as the magical artefact it was. Archer left it with them as an additional pledge of their goodwill. She still couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't any kind of trick left. Not from Kai. Maybe it was just because of their weird first meeting, but he seemed not very bright to her. Archer was more dangerous. He was pharaoh, a god-king. If someone was able to abuse this contract of his, it was him.

 **Castillon-sur-Agen, 1177**

The inside of the moat was roughly furnished. Where the walls were not covered with coloured carpets, cold and grey stone stared at the group of men and women who stood there in the light of candles and torches. It was not only Sir Gregory there who owned the castle that was their meeting place, but there were many of the local noblemen of Aquitaine who had gathered to hear Richard speak. The young prince stood there, surrounded, his youthful features made hard by the armor he wore.

"I speak here not only as a prince and not only on behalf of his majesty my brother, king Henry. I speak as a fellow vassal of the king of the Normandy, Anjou and England. I speak as a son, I speak as a brother and...", he made a dramatic pause with the hint of a smile fitting to the fire in his eyes. "... and I speak as a knight."

He might have been young, but his deep voice echoed through the court and sounded years older than it should have.

"I don't need to tell you how my father treats his subject, commoners and noblemen alike. You know it very well and many of you even better, since you have felt how it feels like to be a victim of his wrath. My father fancies himself a king who stands atop the laws of men and God. He revokes titles where he sees fit and redistributes land to those who have his favour, disregarding old traditions and heirlooms in the process. I feel your anger. I feel your insecurity. Any of you could be the next! Therefore, my brother and I recommend you to let him feel as well. There is only one answer I have for injustice and dishonor: Cold steel! While we speak my brother is already invading the Normandy with his sworn swords, his majesty the king of France prepares an invasion of the English isles and the king of Scotland marches south to join forces with our allies in the midlands. I promise you the king will fall, I promise you not to take down my arms until my brother has restored your old fiefdoms! I promise on my honor as a knight!"

He paused, waiting for the reaction of his vassals. It was Sir Gregory who stepped towards him. He was a grim knight in his early forties of Frankish blood. His head was bald, but a bushy black beard and eyebrows covered his face.

"What you say is true and you say it well", replied the knight. "But I know your king brother not. It is said he is young and rash and it is also said he called for his banners after the old Henry took a few castles of his and gave them to his youngest son, your brother John. With him being a toddler he became regent for the territories they belonged to. Isn't it so?"

"It is", said Richard with a frown, unsure what he was trying to tell him. "It is one of many incidents that display his utter disregard for the rights of his vassals."

"Sure. But there is a difference here that shatters the pretty little picture you are painting. He took these lands not from a mere vassal, but from his own son. The young Henry never took up arms for us, but for himself. He was the one slighted and he wants to drag us into a rebellion which is not ours."

Richard thought for several seconds, the silence stretching out between them uneasily. But then his features softened, forming an approving grin.

"You have a good grip on the situation, honorable Sir Gregory. But it was but the last straw of all so many. I ask you, what do you prefer: Tyranny of freedom? This is the choice we make here and now. Even when my ancestor, William the Conqueror, took England through rights of conquest, he kept the feudal structures he found mostly intact. These traditions and titles and territories prevailed till today. Till my father came with his ambitions to rearrange them to favour those who support his every word without counsel and advise.

"William was a truer king than his predecessor. My father was raised to be king and feels entitled to do as he likes. But don't despair, I, Richard of House Plantagenet, swear to you, that his tyranny will end! The era of lickspittles and sleazy favourseekers will be replaced by an era of truer men, of honorable men like all of you here. My brother might be young, but he means to respect the rights you deserve and will keep himself out of you affairs, only offering you the protection of his kingdom. So I ask you, lend me your sword so that we can make this future happen! When I look around, I see great men, great leaders, great lords! Together, we can build a dream of a kingdom build on trust and chivalry! A kingdom even the legendary King Arthur will be envious of!"

Gregory eyed him carefully. Then, after a long silence, he broke up in laughter. Richard seemed confused, but was able to keep his dignity by letting the laughter wave over him.

"I can't believe it, boy. I was doubtful, yes, but I see you have the fire. You really mean it. If your brother is worth half the trust you put into him, I think I can get behind this cause of yours."

"I would be greatly honored to have you at my side", Richard replied, turning to his other vassals. "What about you, noble lords and ladies?"

They didn't need to think long about it. One of the other landed knights among them drew his sword, raising it into the air.

"For the future! For the young Henry!", he boomed.

Others followed swift, filling the cold air with cheers and blessings.

 _It was like in one of the stories I liked so much as a child. These were not only my vassals, they were my followers and true companions. My knights of the Round Table. If we had deployed, we would have been unstoppable. No, we were unstoppable for the time we fought together. We took castle upon castle while the troops of my father desperately tried to stave us off. The young Henry was equally successful... at first. But then everything came to a halt. The invasion organized by king Louis delayed more and more, the king of Scotland was defeated in the field and our allies in the midlands were surrounded and slaughtered. The only position left to us was France. I marched north with all my strength to join forces with Henry when the news of my mother reached us. She was betrayed by some lord who lost faith into the cause, put into chains and shipped to my father in exchange for a pardon. I can only imagine his satisfied smile when he ordered her locked up in a remote castle like a princess in one of these tales the commoners like to tell._

The scene changed to the interior of a different castle. Sir Gregory was there and so were several other of the noblemen who had gathered at Castillon-sur-Agen. Richard was bend over a table, studying maps and accounts. His forehead was wrinkled with worries.

 _My father's forces had taken us by surprise, pretty much swept up the castle I was residing in right under my royal arse. I managed to escape with a few of my knights and tried to rearrange my troops. Knowing Henry and Louis had joined forces only a few weeks ago, I treated the capture of most of my retinue as a minor setback. If we could roll up Anjou and the Normandy from the south, we could lure my father's mercenaries out into the open. Well, that was what was going on in my head anyway._

The wooden door burst open and a weary man with a traveller's cloak entered. He was breathing heavily, indicating that he had stormed the steps of the keep the moment he dismounted from his horse. It must have been urgent.

"Sire...", he announced, turning towards Richard.

The prince eyed him warily.

"You must have ridden a long distance. What message brought you here?"

The young man took a deep breath, pulling out two sheets of parchment out of the bag he carried with him. Then he paused, realizing the other lords were watching him silently.

"This news is only meant for your eyes, my prince", the messenger said.

"I have no secrets from my companions", Richard replied grimly. "Read it aloud."

The man gulped and bowed.

"I am terribly sorry, my lord, but I cannot."

Richard grunted and took the scrolls from him. One of it was a long contract with the lilies of Louis and the lions of Henry stamped into the wax. He thought it was the sigil of the young king, so he decided to read the other one first, it was a simple message.

"Dear brother", he read aloud. "When you are reading these lines several weeks will have passed after the battle I am writing of. The forces of our lord father clashed with mine and the ones of king Louis at Rouen. It was a long and valiant battle in which both sides brought forth great heroes. It grieves me to tell you...", Richard paused, staring at the next lines in utter disbelieve. "... that our forces were routed and scattered while the ones of Louis retreated... Our father offered generous terms of surrender and king Louis accepted in my stead."

Richard didn't bothered to read the rest, ending with the severely cut down number of titles Henry still possessed. The knight put the message down and read the contract, all people staring at him in utter silence.

 _Both my brothers had surrendered and put their arms down, breaking the vow we swore at Paris. The terms specifically excluded me, making me effectively still an active combatant in our rebellion. I was a rebel without a cause with a rebel army without aim. There was no reason to continue fighting, but what should I have said to the men at my side? And the men who already died for me... my world shattered, and all I could do was beg for forgiveness._

Richard arrived in the court of Poitiers, his father and his loyal knights awaiting him. King Henry II. was a tall man, muscular and in bright red armor. He was a spitting image of the man the young Richard would grow into, but the difference between the two men was clearly for everyone to see. It were the eyes. While Richard's eyes were warm and lively, Henry's were cold and grim. He watched silently how his son approached him and went to his knees.

"I have come in shame, having seen the errors of my ways", Richard said miserably. "I have wronged you and made your realm bleed. I know that now. Your cause was the just one. I hereby swear to never take up arms against you again, to support you in each of your decisions. I only beg you for your forgiveness for me and my men who were misguided by me. It was not their treason, it was mine."

The king rose from his throne and stepped towards him, his arms crossed behind his back.

"I am glad to hear you have come to wisdom, my son", he proclaimed, his voice barely containing anger and disappointment. "But you are young and you had evil-minded counsellors whispering treason into your ears. It was the same with your brothers."

Richard looked up, aghast.

"It was not so, my king, it was-"

"Silence!", his voice struck like a lash, making the young prince shiver. "It is as I said. There are many false tongues in my kingdom and many a traitor still unpunished. But neither you nor you brothers were responsible. Neither you nor your brothers need to fear my wrath. I have my terms, but if you accept, I will gladly forgive you."

"You will have my castles, you will have my lands. I swear it by God", Richard said, desperately clinging to the hope of getting back into the fold of the kingdom.

"Aye, I will. Do you accept my conditions."

"I do, lord father", he said gladly.

The king bent down and kissed his forehead.

"And with this kiss, you will get my peace."

"I thank you..."

"There is only one thing to do. A quest, if you so will. To prove your loyalty to me."

Now Richard hesitated.

"What do you want?"

"Peace of course. You owe me that, don't you? Return to your lands and order your vassals to stand down."

"I will", he sighed in relieve, having obviously expected something much worse.

"Good. And then revoke their titles, raze their castles and torch their villages."

The world came crashing down onto the young knight.

"What?, he said aghast.

"Don't be so surprised. They have committed treason. I cannot have traitors within my realm. They shall know what happens if they defy the will of their king. The remaining ones should learn from their mistakes and never take up arms against me again. Do not worry, your brothers are going to do the same with their former co-conspirators."

He turned around and left his son on the ground.

"No... please, forgive them! They are good men, honorable men. Punish me if you must, but don't make me swing your sword. Please!", tears flew from his eyes, but his father ignored him. It was a hopeless cause.

 _A cruel jape of a cruel man. It was as much punishment for me as it was for those I should punish. They fought for me, they died for me. And now he made me betray them. That was his true punishment. He knew I could never stand injustice like this, so he meant to break me... and since he was not able to do that on the battlefield, he intended for me to break in shame and dishonor._

They had ridden circles. Both around the castle and around the countryside. Richard was where his part in the rebellion had started, approaching the gates of Castillon-sur-Agen with a small number of mounted knights. Sir William held the peace banner in one hand. He was a landless knight sworn to his mother, but Richard was wary of him since his true loyalties were to his father. He respected him as a fighter though, so he was glad his father had sent someone to watch him who at least knew what he was doing. William was an accomplished tourney knight who basically made his living entirely through unhorsing knights.

"Shouldn't you have given orders to build siege engines, my prince?", he inquired while they were waiting for the portcullis to be raised.

"Not yet. I have come to order him to stand down, not to start a battle", Richard replied grimly.

 _Truth be told, I felt wretched enough about what I was going to do that I wouldn't have bothered if Gregory's reply was a crossbow bolt through my neck. This way I would have at least died before breaking my vows._

"It will come to the same either way...", William said, pity clear to see in his eyes. "That one is stubborn."

"And so am I", Richard replied, giving him a dark look.. "I have come to treat with him, so I will treat with him."

Shortly thereafter Sir Gregory arrived with a couple of riders. He was clad in full armor, the visor of his helmet opened. A ferocious Frankish warrior.

"What do you want, boy?", he hissed, making the futility of their discussion clear from the get-go.

"I have come in the name of my lord father the king. He orders you to stand down", Richard said miserably.

"I have returned to my home. Isn't that enough?"

"Your banners are still called, your levies still armed", the crimson knight stated.

"Aye. I take my vows seriously. In difference to certain other false knights I know."

Richard grimaced, the low punch felt deserved.

"You are speaking with a prince, my lord, mind your tongue", William said, not oblivious to the dismissal.

"I can speak as I like. I have pledged myself to a cause this oathbreaker had oh so eagerly abandoned", Gregory spoke icily. "Where is your future now, boy?"

"I deserve this scorn, I know. But your men don't deserve to die as well. It is over. This future is over. Hand over your castle and return to the peace of the king. Do it for them."

"Should I? Well, what then? What does your lord father intend to do with me then? And may I remind you since you need to reminded: You are a knight, speak true to me or not at all!"

For a heartbeat Richard considered the offer of silence. He dreaded what he was about to say, but if he didn't, William would have did it.

"My lord father wants this castle seized and dismantled so that it never could be used against him again."

"As expected...", Gregory grumbled, looking into the distance. "So this is this future you spoke of? Truly magnificent."

"It is not...", Richard protested, more meekly than he had intended.

"Spare me your excuses. I swore a vow and I mean to stick to it. I will not give up my weapons as long as I have them. Go on, take this castle. But be assured I am going to make you bleed for every single stone of it", he turned his horse around and left, forcing Richard, William and the rest of his knights to do the same.

"There you have it. You'll need trebuchets, not words", William commented.

"I know", Richard hissed, angry more at himself than anyone else.

 _I swore I would make it swift and bloody. Gregory and his band of brave fools deserved it. A death in battle, not a death through starvation in a long siege. I found the weak spots of the structure and let the walls get battered with artillery, preparing myself to storm the castle. It took only two months, a surprisingly short amount of time for a supposedly impregnable castle._

Richard screamed at the top of his lungs. He himself commanded his foot soldiers, climbing the ramp of grey rubble in front of the breach like a madman. His men followed, bravely. Arrows wheezed past their heads, some missing, many blocked with shields and some hitting and striking down poor soldiers. Richard himself had three deeply locked into his shield when he slithered the remains of the wall down into the yard. A wall of spearmen blocked their way to the keep, but Richard charged it nevertheless, knocking a spear away with his sword and crashing into the formation shield forward. When his men-at-arms followed, the battle for the yard quickly devolved into dozens of independent melees. Nobody bothered to even try keeping a formation. Richard was seemingly in a frenzy, cutting down men left and right. But his heart was far from detached of the situation.

 _I always liked being in battle. It was simple, it meant either you or your enemy, both parties fairly using all means they have at their disposal. In its rough way, it is not without honor. And certainly not without glory. But punishing these men for my misdeeds was far from honorable. It was not justice, because their cause was more just than mine. I had become the Evil I had vowed to fight... but still... I thought if I could take the brunt of the battle onto my own shoulders, the pain of injustice wouldn't be so suffocating. My rebellion had sentenced them to die, so it was only fitting if I was the one swinging the sword. And it would have been fitting if I were the one they struck down instead of those soldiers I've let into the siege. They had no part in my rebellion and their deaths were not asked by my father, so they would have been completely meaningless. Therefore I wanted to end it as swiftly as possible... myself._

The wooden door of the central keep shattered with an awful shriek. Even before the men-at-arms let go of the battering ram Richard, William and a couple of other knights poured into the inside. The prince knew the place well. There were curved steps they had to climb to reach the solar. Richard flew across them taking two steps at a time, all the way booming upwards:

"It is over! Surrender, Sir Gregory! Surrender, damnit!"

The only answer he got was a crossbow bolt that slamming into his shield. If it had struck only a tiny bit more to the right, it would have nailed his arm to the wood, but so he was only slightly staggering. The man-at-arms responsible for it was in front of him, realizing his shot was not lethal he desperately started to reload. Not allowing him to finish his work, Richard charged forward and drove the point of his sword deeply into his unprotected chest until he felt the blade hitting the stone wall behind him. The man was immediately dead, not able to bother that Richard pinned his body against the wall with his foot to be able to free his sword. A red smear covered the bricks behind him after he slumped down. The moment Richard retrieved the sword, he sensed movement at his side and whirled around. It was too late. He barely managed to deflect the spear with the edge of his shield, but it hit his right shoulder regardless, cutting through the metal rings forming his shirt and ripping open a bloody gash. Richard answered by moving into the man-at-arms, robbing him of all room he needed to use his spear while Richard was able to bring his sword up and cut his throat in a single brutal slash. Not caring for his wound he darted forward, the solar being pretty much directly in front of him. And much to his surprise, the door was open. Richard entered the dark room, William and four other knights following swiftly. In front of them stood Sir Gregory along with six well equipped knights with mail and swords. Richard stepped towards them. His crimson surcoat made it difficult to see the repercussions of his carnage, but his sword was covered in blood and brains, wool and hair. He was a terrible sight.

"Give up, Ser Gregory. Your castle has fallen. Your subjects have bled enough", Richard said impatiently.

"Might be", the knight replied with acid in his voice. "But I want to make sure that yours will bleed even more."

"This is madness and you know it... lower your sword, you have kept your oath for as long as honor demands!"

Sir Gregory snorted derisively.

"What do you know of honor? Come now, Sir. The time of excuses is over. I want to see if your steel is as brittle as your words."

The older knight stepped forward. William did as well, trying to protect his prince. But Richard dismissed him with a blocking gesture of his sword.

 _I brought doom over this stubborn man, so it was me who should duel him._

Richard stepped towards his foe, his shield raised in front of him. The shield with the three lions and the three holes of the arrowheads he had pulled out. Sir Gregory was the first to attack, aiming for his neck but getting blocked by Richard's shield. Meanwhile Gregory's companions engaged into their own combats with the knights who had followed their prince into the enemy keep. Richard kept his cool, carefully blocking all of his foe's advances, waiting for a gap.

 _Sir Gregory was terrifyingly strong and he had the more noble cause on his side. I only had the boldness of youth and the training of my mother's best knights on my side._

Then Richard saw a gap in his opponents defence. He saw him holding his shield too high, a perfect opportunity to strike at his legs and send him to his knees. The prince let the first one pass, opting to deflect a stab at his helmet with the iron-reinforced edge of his shield instead.

"What's up with you? I'm still waiting for your strike", Gregory teased, only aware of Richard's complete lack of aggressiveness.

Richard grunted, striking him with his shield and following swiftly with a sword cut under the cover of his shield. It was not well aimed, Gregory was able to evade it, but he had staggered. Then the young prince's training set in. His mind focused on the duel and the duel only, completely forgetting his aching heart. He lunged forward, hacking at his enemy's sword with the lower side of his shield, thus forcing it down. Richard then brought his sword into the side of his enemy, behind the shield he instinctively reeled back to his body. But it was too late, now it only helped the prince to get closer and he was able to stab into Gregory's left shoulder through his chain mail before he was able to force it away. Cursing Sir Gregory tried to raise his sword again, but Richard struck it down again with his shield, continuing his onslaught with a quick series of stabs and slashes, driving his reeling enemy across the room. Exploiting another gap opened through his attack, he drove the point of his sword into the side of Gregory and shortly thereafter into his raised arm. His mail and thick stuffing took the brunt of it, but he still grimaced and seemed under great pain while trying to fight on. Richard decided to make it quick. During his next advance he ignored Gregory's shield and let his sword bite into the one of the older knight and put all his strength behind it. He sent it flying the ground.

"Damn you, I just need your surrender!", Richard yelled.

Gregory just stared back at him, Hatred plainly written in his face. He then darted forward, reaching for his sword. The crimson knight reacted instinctively, bringing his sword down... It cut through steel and wool and flesh and bone, making a horrible crunch. He didn't manage to totally severe it, but cut deep enough that it made no difference. Gregory wailed in fury and pain, letting go of his sword again and hacking at Richard with his shield instead. Richard was so focused on the maimed hand, he never so it coming and quickly felt the edge of the shield ramming into his belly.

 _This was when I realized that in my half-heartedly approach I made it only worse. I had sworn to make it a swift battle, so my hesitation went against my promise and only brought more pain. I had to end it quickly... for me and for Gregory to end his hopeless fight and give him the death of a knight he sought._

Without much resistance Richard knocked Gregory's shield to the sight and aimed for his throat. It was a quick death, he only had to struggle for a few seconds.

"For the future...", he croaked in his last moments.

These words hit Richard far more than the shield ever did. When he finally turned around, he saw two of his men sprawled out dead on the ground and all of the enemy except one who had surrendered to William at sword point.

"Get up and bring his banners down, it is over", he finally said to one of his knights.

 _I never knew how I managed to take the steps down. I never realized how wrought out I was, how heavy my breath was until I reached the castle yard. It was a miserable deed I did. And miserable I felt. I... the boy who dreamed to become a knight of legends... forced to be an oathbreaker instead... betraying and even killing my own vassals._

He was a terrifying sight when he stepped into the light of the yard. He hadn't even sheathed his sword, the blood of Sir Gregory and all those other noble warriors he was forced to fight and kill still on it. His surcoat was soiled and his face and his golden stubble was sprinkled with crimson red. The colour of his house. He looked around with a weary expression. His men were successful in the meantime. They stood in the yard, they stood on the battlements and they stood atop the keep. A few dozens of surrendering men-at-arms and castlefolk were rounded up in the middle of the yard. But all eyes were focused on him. And he saw no sadness in them, he saw no guilt. These men were cheerful, bathing in the glory of victory. And they were not looking at him in scorn or pity. They were looking in awe and adoration. Before he realized what that meant, one on the battlements spoke up:

"There! Behold our peerless prince! The first in the breach and the first in the keep!"

"Our fearless prince!", another cheered on.

"With the heart of a lion!", a third one proclaimed.

It only took seconds until all of them joined the chorus.

"Cœr de Lion! Cœr de Lion! Cœr de Lion! Cœr de Lion!"

Richard Plantagenet stood there, awestruck, gaping at the surreal scene with wide eyes.

 _Ironic, isn't it? For all deeds of mine, I got that epithet for the one I considered my greatest sin. The world is a strange place. I'm still not entirely sure whether to curse it or embrace it. Sure, people had called their monarchs worse things in history. But it was not the only reason for I was glad that it stuck with me. It was a reminder of my misdeeds, sure... but a reminder that made sure I never forgot them. And never let them happen again. If my people were going to call me hero, I had to make bloody sure that I earned the right to call myself one._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Sabrina looked at Saber. Right now he had sat down on the second couch, having switched from his armor to a simple tunic with his lion heraldry to save mana. He had fetched that thick tome he was reading since their first day together. They were wandering through Einzbern and she was showing him around when he suddenly halted at a bookstore, pointing at the window. It was on sale and he seemed quite eager to get it, so Sabrina bought it as some kind of welcoming present.

"And? Is it still interesting?", she asked now.

Saber reacted with a grin under his red beard, he was glancing at her.

"Of course it is."

It was a yellow book like this publisher has for pretty much every historical literature. This one was surprisingly heavy with its nearly eight hundred pages. It was a compendium of the most influential stories about King Arthur.

"Haven't you already read them?", Sabrina then asked.

"Only the youngest of them", Saber told her with a smirk. "It's fascinating, really. This man died five hundred years before even my time, but he still gets new adventures. That's what I call a true legend!"

 _I better shouldn't mention how much literature he got after his death. I'd never be able to reel in his ego after that._

Sabrina then decided to leave Richard with his book and go make a short stop at her father's study. Study was maybe too much of a word, but he always called it this. It was a small room next to her parents' bedroom only containing a desk with the computer and a set of shelves filled with files containing bills and receipts. Just the boring accounts of a boring ordinary family living its life. Sabrina's parents were actually quite rich. They were investment brokers who always told her they met at university. She was not quite privy to what exactly they were brokering, but it caused them to travel quite often so their abundance of materiel needs was often bought with a lack of time for the family. And for some reason they had decided to grab her sister Kiru-bri (another victim of their terrible naming conventions, Sabrina calls her Kristin) and take her with them to let her see what they did. Sabrina didn't thought brokering is a family business, but her parents were for some reason hell-bent to make it one. Right now Sabrina tried not to think too much about them. It always made her angry to be left behind, now especially since Kristin always had this smug look on her face when they returned and had her fun to let her know that she now knew something Sabrina didn't.

Instead she focused on the task on hand and it didn't take her much research to get the information she needed. When Sabrina returned to the living-room Saber was still there where she left him, immersed into his book. He took it down when she seated herself on the other couch.

"And?", he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Our enemy is Ramesses the Great", even saying it made her feel dreadful. "A king of ancient Egypt who predates you by a large margin."

Sabrina knew there were famous heroes fighting in this battle and she was glad to have one with the reputation of the Lionheart fighting for her. But she had also learned age and fame made Servants more powerful. She never denied Archer being old, it was plain to see for her the very moment he had materialized in the forest next to the school. But Ramesses was pretty much the pharaoh everyone connected with pharaohs, even overshadowing those who had built the pyramids just through sheer fame. This power-up could prove fatal. Saber seemed to share her worries, he rubbed his bearded chin with a thoughtful expression.

"Egypt you say... Well, I thought so much...", he mused.

"Now that was the easiest part, you don't need to be proud of that", Sabrina snorted. "He can't deny he does look like a pharaoh the same way you look like a knight."

"To my defence, petite lionne, I never had a clear image of how the builders of the pyramids looked like in my head. They were the stuff of far-away legends in my time, a complete mystery to my peers", Richard explained. "For me he looked just alien and nothing more."

Sabrina frowned.

"So then why did you think about Egypt?"

He smiled, but it was not his usual boisterous laughing smile. He was reminiscing thoughtfully.

"Well, Archer might have lacked the right spirit you need to enjoy a fight to the fullest, but he more than made up with his sense of honor. In this regard he just reminded me of a certain Egyptian emir who caused me a slight bit of trouble."

Sabrina leaned back, wondering. She had a very good idea about whom he was speaking about, but decided not to speak her thoughts out aloud. History was history. Contemplating about the past could have made their quest much more difficult since Saber was forced to kill all those historical people they were facing. It was this moment the phone began to ring. Pulled out of her conversation Sabrina excused herself and left Richard with his precious book. Looking at the display of the phone she realized it was her mother.

"Hello, Sa... sanu-bri here."

"Ah, hello dear, it's me", her mother replied. "How are you? Is everything okay?"

 _I hope she doesn't call because my school was in the news._

"Everything is fine. Why are you asking?"

"Oh, nothing... just a feeling. I wanted to hear what you are doing. I hope you are not too bored on your own."

"I don't think so, there is quite a lot that needs my attention", she grimaced while speaking, glancing into the living room where the broad knight filled the couch.

"Did you have any visitors lately?"

Now she frowned.

"No. What makes you think so?"

"You hadn't?", the voice of her mother sounded strangely surprised. "Are you sure?"

"I should know, shouldn't I? Well, anyway, do you think I'm doing a house party or something."

"No, that's not it, I just... Ah, I admit, I was maybe a bit worried."

Sabrina's eyes narrowed.

"Thanks for your trust..."

"Hey, don't be like that. You know what I mean."

"Do I?", she sighed. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk with me about?"

Her mother paused, seemingly thinking. Sabrina wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

"So... how is London?", she tried to give her a chance.

"London? Oh yes... great. Well, it's not like we have time for sightseeing. There is a lot of work to do for me and your father."

"I expected as much", Sabrina replied.

"Well then... I think that was all. Take care of yourself. Goodbye, Sanu-bri."

"See you later", she said, waiting for the line to crack and shut down.

She re-entered the living room, shaking her head. What was her mother thinking? That she was wrecking the house in their absence? She needed to get back on track after this weird incursion. She turned to the reading crimson knight.

"Are you still able to fight?", she asked.

Richard seemed taken aback, pulled out of his book.

"Of course! Why asking, petite lionne, do you doubt my resolve?"

"No, no. It's just... you used Excalibur today. I thought it was pretty expensive in regard to your energy consumption", Sabrina said.

"And it is... but not enough to cripple me for the rest of the day, be assured of that. And then there is this...", he waved towards the papyrus scroll on the table. "I take it you want to head out tonight again? I'm with you there. I won't let you down."

"I know..."

Sabrina took the Hotep en Netscher, unrolled it, read the words again and then went towards a cupboard next to the TV to put it in there. A few old tapes of her family were stored there, nobody had opened it in ages. It was the perfect place to hide it for the time being. She sighed then.

"Yes, let's take a break and get ready when the sun goes down", she declared. "I want to see our first victory."

Saber was a man who had an easy smile, but the sheepish one he put on now gave her chills.

"You've gotten a taste for battle, petite lionne, did you?", he cocked his head.

She went to leave the living room.

"Quite the opposite", Sabrina replied. "Now that I've seen you fighting, I want to end it as soon as possible. Before one of you seven guys gets the notion of leveling the city."

He took it lightly. He grimaced, but in a way that expressed his amusement about the notion.

"Now you do me a little injustice, I was always trying to keep the damage low."

"Except when it suited your strategy...", she groaned.

"Exactly!"

She left him at that and went up to her bedroom. It was a strange habit she had started after the first day of the Grail War. And it wrecked her sleeping cycle and made her increasingly unnerved. Saber told her these battles were fought during the night and in remote areas so they were less likely to stumble into possible witnesses. So Sabrina decided to went along with this notion, slept during the day to wander the streets of Einzbern during the night, keeping vigil for other Servants running around. So far they had no success and it brought only a terrible Monday to her when she had to go to school again all sleepy and wrought out. At least her parents were not around to wonder what the heck she was doing. She closed the blinds of her windows to keep out the afternoon sun and desperately tried to find some sleep. Not that sleep found her easily since the arrival of the crimson knight. She had these strange dreams of his medieval life. And it was a weirdly complicated life full of treachery and bloodshed. His family seemed totally screwed up... something she could strangely connect with. Sure enough, she also had a few glimpses into his earliest childhood on the first days. And how he lived together with his sister Jeanne at the court of his mother. All three seemed pretty close, something she could not say about her own mother and sister. But she was shocked to see how his strained relationship with his father contributed to a civil war...

She closed her eyes, being a little bit afraid of what she was about to witness next...

* * *

 **Class:** Saber (also summonable as Rider)

 **Identity:** Richard I. Cœr de Lion

 **Alignment** : Lawful Good

 **Strength:** B

 **Endurance:** C

 **Agility:** C

 **Mana:** C

 **Luck:** D

 **Noble Phantasm:** B

* * *

 **Class Skills:**

 **Magic Resistance:** C

 **Riding:** B

* * *

 **Personal Skills:**

 **Charisma:** A

 **Bravery:** A+

 **Military Tactics:** C

 **Eye of the Mind (True):** C

* * *

 **Noble Phantasms:**

 **Excalibur (Anti-Fortress):** C

When they witnessed Richards fighting prowess in the holy land, his knights soon started to tell stories about King Arthur having come again to fight for his country. Richard, greatly honored by the comparison, went with it, named his longsword Excalibur and spread the tale of having retrieved the original from the legendary lake. This tale elevated the sword to the level of a Noble Phantasm, resulting in an odd combination of Richard's actual sword 'Excalibur' and how he imagines the original to have looked like. While it does copy the abilities of the original, it is connected to the much younger legend of Richard and therefore much weaker in terms of raw power output. On the other hand, the lower power output makes it far more cost effective and more reasonable to use in single combat.

 **Character Theme:**

Youtube: watch?v=QS6R54KYoCU


	10. Chapter 9 - Sabrina

Welcome back again to our new team's next chapter. How will Sabrina and her sly little knight fare in this Grail War?

* * *

Chapter 9 - Sabrina

 **Ballan, 1189**

This Richard who now rode up a steep hill with a peace banner among his riders was a visibly older version. He was pretty close to the Heroic Spirit, muscles and gold-red beard and all. The only exception was his helmet which was not adorned by a crown yet. And there was another familiar face. The man in chainmail and a blue surcoat dotted with golden lilies could have been mistaken for the old Louis, but he wasn't. He was much younger and the crown he wore revealed his identity as king Philip II..

 _My brother Henry had rebelled a few years prior to this scene. It was his final act of defiance. He had lost everything that time. His armies, his allies, his health... his life. He had caught an illness during his campaign and died shortly after his defeat. This was the sad tale of Henry the young King. By all rights of the kingdom I was now the heir... rights my father refused me for some reason. He never proclaimed me his official successor and when I demanded it, he publicly humiliated me by refusing. I never got an explanation. Maybe he was still wroth for my revolt years ago. Maybe he was so used to using my little brother John as a proxy to control claims that he intended to make him heir instead to express his gratitude. Maybe it was a bit of both. The only thing I knew is that I could not let it happen. The throne was mine. So I had raised my arms again. I had the support of my mother. I had the support of my dear friend Philip. This time there was no brother I had to fight for... or a brother who could be defeated. I campaigned on my own, only using my most trusted knights. And soon enough I was winning. I smashed the host my father gathered and hunted his scattered forces across the countryside._

They met in the middle of nowhere. The hill was a good viewing point to watch the forest around them. Campfire and smoke was visible at two sides, with the one behind Richard much more impressive. Then they came into view. A small procession of knights with the peace banner flying above them. The knight who carried it was another familiar face, wearing his personal coat-of-arms of a red lion on green and gold.

 _Sir William was the first I recognized. He had declared for my father in the conflict... and he was the only one who was able to defeat me in combat. His wedge crashed into the cavalry I commanded. And God guided his horse into mine so that we clashed in full charge. It was a glorious fight and I gloriously fell off my horse. It was the first time I was unhorsed in close combat... and it stayed the only time until I died. Some people will tell you that he dismounted thereafter and refrained from killing me while I was a tangled mess of limbs and armor, only to kill my horse to send me a warning. I'm afraid that's not what happened. My knights were superior in numbers to his, so his wedge was quickly overcome and he was forced to retreat. The brawl was too confusing and there was no time to dismount, he surly would have been cut down if he tried._

Then Richard saw king Henry, his father. He had known of his illness that had caused him to only pursue his campaign half-heartedly. But seeing him now he looked like a corpse someone had mounted atop his much more impressive war horse, Richard's face fell. He looked to Philip next to him, who saw the same, but decided with grim decisiveness to ignore it.

 _Now there I was, wondering if this truly is how victory should feel like._

Richard rode forward, so that he and his father were directly facing each other while still on horseback.

"I am glad you decided to treat with me", Richard said carefully.

He had planned to mirror the condescending way Henry talked to him after his brother's botched rebellion, but now where he stood here, he wasn't able to bring himself to do it. His father looked pained, but he had his pride. He never wanted to rob it from him when his pride was all he had left.

"Do what you came for and be done with it", he grumbled, his voice strangely thin.

Philip fetched the treaty with the lion stamp and gave it to Richard. He glimpsed a last time at the words, rolled it together and hold it firmly in his hand. Squeezing the parchment somehow made it more real to him.

"You know what I want. I want my rights. Nothing more. None of this would have happened if you just had let the law run its course."

"You made my realm bleed", the king insisted.

Henry stared to the ground, seemingly not intending to back up his words with further defiance. He then coughed up, it was a rather ugly fit. Before he managed to get his steel gauntlet in front of his mouth, his horse shied when he coughed into its mane. And even thereafter, he looked into his left hand with resigned wonder. Drops of dark red blood were smeared across the cold metal.

 _He was a dead man, I realized. Weakened from battle, weakened from illness, weakened from travel._

Richard gulped and reached out with the treaty. King Henry wiped his left hand at his surcoat while taking it with his right one. The moment the prince let go of the parchment, the king did as well and the document drifted down to the ground with both silently looking after it. Henry seemed struck by his show of weakness, unable to get his eyes off the soiled treaty. Suddenly Richard was overcome by pity, feeling a sudden urge to dismount and pick it up for his father himself. He struggled with himself, because he knew he couldn't.

 _When it comes to chivalry, everything is about symbolism, the late king Louis had the right of it. Dismounting while my father stayed on horseback would have made me standing lower than him. I couldn't do this act of kindness without keeping face._

Sir William was of lower standing, so he had no problem to do it. He swung off his horse, picked it up and gave it to his king, making sure that he had grasped it firmly this time.

"I am not your enemy", Richard said miserably while he watched his father reading the lines. "I just want you to confirm that I am your rightful heir."

Henry's body was feeble, but his icy eyes were still sharp. Even he found nothing more in the proclamation than Richard intended to be in there. His birthright after his older brother's death, nothing more. Begrudgingly Henry II. waved toward Sir William and the knight gave him a lighted candle before he stripped off his signet ring. Awkwardly resting the parchment on the back of his horse he dripped a bit of the wax onto the treaty and pressed the three lions into it. Without any further word he gave the proclamation to Richard, turned his horse around and slowly rode back towards his camp. He never once looked back at his son.

 _I returned to my troops as well. Wondering. All the conflict, all the deaths... for what? Wriggling a crown out of the fingers of a broken man? Philip was in high spirits however. Since he had rarely anything to do with John and since I was about to marry his sister Alys, he thought a smoother succession from my father to me would start a century of friendship between our dynasties. Yeah, about that..._

Two days later Richard awoke in his camp when they told him a messenger from his father had arrived. He had barely time to dress before this messenger entered together with King Philip. Much to his surprise, this messenger turned out to be Sir William. Having such a high representative of his father there, he knew immediately that something was wrong. And he dreaded was he was about to hear.

"So he truly is?", Richard said with a thin voice.

Sir William nodded with his eyes cast down.

"I'm afraid... yes. The king passed away this night."

"How?", he asked immediately.

William hesitated, he must have seen the guilt in his eyes. The knight shook his head.

"It was his illness. It had attacked his body and he succumbed to it."

"There is more. I see it in your reaction. You are a knight, Sir William, please don't lie to me, even out of consideration. The king was my father", Richard drove with his fingers through his hair, not bothering that his distress was plain for everyone to see.

"He... My lord, I..."

"I have to know it, Sir. Please."

The knight sighed and resigned to the order of the prince.

"I wasn't there when it happened, but it is said he collapsed after he received a letter... from prince John. He never recovered."

Richard frowned.

"What does he have to do with anything?"

"Well... I don't know the heart of the late king, but it is also said... that in this letter John supported your claim as the heir and urged the king to accept your conditions. It was meant to arrive before our meeting two days ago."

The prince looked down, his face full of worry and grief.

"May... May I take my leave?"

He waved in a dismissing motion and Sir William gladly escaped. Richard however had nowhere to escape. He sat down on his bad and had to think about it all.

"Don't make such a face", Philip spoke up. "You have heard him. It was the illness that claimed his life."

"My father was a greater man than to allow a bloody cough to strike him down", Richard said darkly, rage tumbling in his belly. "Illness might have dealt the killing blow, but it was only able to sneak up to him after I had him pinned down. I could as well have marched into his tent and cut his throat myself."

Philip grimaced.

"You are king now, brother. Your people awaits you in London."

"I know...", Richard groaned miserably. "I will go... in time. I need to make preparations. For my father... and my atonement."

"You still have that foolish notion, have you?"

"Someone needs to reclaim the Holy Land", he told him, defiance in his eyes. "I hope I can still count you as my ally."

"Of course", Philip dismissed his doubts with a hand gesture and a quick smile. "My sister would be struck with grief if I let her future husband get himself killed against some infidels. No, the might of France is behind you."

"Thanks", he said, not feeling very grateful.

The notion of Alys only further reinforced his guilt. He was still struggling with the fact of what had happened during her stay at Henry's court while Richard was away in Aquitaine. His father was a forceful man, who took what he desired without thinking of the consequences. His mother's fury about his escapades was well known and likely only made her more eager to support her sons in their rebellions. But what he did to Alys, Richard's betrothed and Henry's own ward by making her his mistress was something he had never forgotten. The woman was now twenty-seven years old and Richard still used every possible excuse to delay that marriage, much to the chagrin of Philip and the even the Church. He knew he should be glad that Philip's urging was not as forceful as it could have been, but it only made him more careful not to endanger his alliance by calling him openly out on it.

"Well then, King Richard", Philip then said, striding towards the exit of the tent. "I know you have to go to your kingdom, I have to return to mine. I will call my banners... the next time we see us in Jerusalem!"

"I will be there first, count on that", Richard smiled a smile that never reached his eyes.

After Philip left, Richard Plantagenet was left alone in his tent, left to his worries about whether he did the right thing.

 _There I was. Richard I., King of England, Duke of the Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Count of Poitiers, Maine, Anjou, and the Brittany. The only question I had left: Was it worth it? Was it worth breaking my vow and taking my arms up against my father again, ultimately bringing him to ruin? I don't know till now. And I am sure this was part of my divine punishment. All I know is that I called myself a knight. And as such I wanted to fight the evil in the world, not my allies and vassals. I wanted to go to the Holy Land, not only for salvation, but to find an easier battle. A truer battle. A battle with honor, a battle I could be proud of. A battle that could truly earn me the title of hero..._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Sabrina awoke with unease and a slight headache.

 _So much for Henry II. and the rebellious Lionheart._

She wondered whether all fellow Masters had those weird dreams, even Kai and his mighty Ramesses. She also wondered whether all those stories felt the same. It was rather odd to her that this proud knight, who looked like the idealized picture everyone has of the Lionheart, the guy who intervenes at the end of pretty much every Robin Hood story to help the heroes get their happy end, had himself such a troubled past.

 _I wonder if that was part of being a hero. That a hero doesn't have it easy. Or was it because Saber was successful at the end of his life? Did he ever find an easier way of heroism in his crusade?_

Anyway, it was clear to her that he was a warmonger either way. No matter whether it was pride or grief that drove him onwards. Sabrina stood up, rearranged her hair and went to the window. The sky was turning a bright orange. She knew it was time. She was eager to set out and continue her own war she had to fight. She grabbed some warmer clothes for the night and went down to Saber, who had already expected her in his spirit form. When she squinted into his direction, she was able to see the blurry features of his armor.

"Can you sense anyone close bye?", she asked the knight.

He shook his head.

"No, petite lionne. Like always, our enemies hide their presence."

"Or they are not here at all...", she sighed. "Kai said he has met Archer only yesterday. It might be we were the first and the other participants haven't even arrived yet."

"There must be at least one other."

He was right, she realized. The beasts that had attacked her in the forest.

"Yes, but that one is very elusively. Preferring to use his minions instead of going out and fight himself", Sabrina stated grimly while she left the house and locked the door.

Saber grunted in agreement, walking at her side when she walked down the streets of Einzbern. She never had any real aim, mostly heading to the edge of the town, making half a circle before returning the way she came. This time her first destination was the school. She dreaded the sight, but she simply had to see what the fire department was able to salvage. Coming close to it she saw that the police had cordoned off the front yard and the entrance with signal tape, making the school building look like a wrapped birthday package. A heap of broken chairs and tables was piled up outside, glass from the broken windows was also there waiting to be brought away.

 _It doesn't look so bad, actually... Ah, who am I fooling? It is the backside of the building that saw all the fighting. They won't let anyone enter the school tomorrow and not for quite a long time anymore..._

She looked questioning at Saber, but he shook only his head. They were still alone. Sabrina went on, silently. The streets of Einzbern had emptied themselves quite a lot, she met few people and few paid her any attention. And there were even less the closer she got to the edge of the town.

"Maybe there simply is no other Master in our corner of Einzbern", she told Saber. "What do you think about taking the bus to the other end? To see if we are more successful there?"

"I have no objections, petite lionne. Covering more ground is always advisable."

She then led the knight to a bus stop near the school where they waited for a while in the darkness, only lit by some street lights. Sabrina felt her eyelids turning heavy and she yawned more then once, but she kept herself going. The few other people on the street were far away and the silence was only shortly interrupted by some guy bragging with his accelerating motorcycle.

"Did you become the hero you wanted to be?", Sabrina suddenly said.

"What?", Saber seemed confused.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't want to confuse you. I just... there were those dreams. Bits of your history. Bits of what drives you forward."

She heard the invisible ghost chuckling.

"Yeah, I had those dreams as well. I admit I found them very amusing, petite lionne."

"What?", Sabrina was aghast. "You can't mean, I... I never thought you could as well..."

"Do not worry, my lady, I haven't seen all that much and certainly nothing improper. Not that I believe I could find such anyway. You are still young, you have your whole life in front of you. I am the deceased fellow here."

Sabrina snorted. Sure enough, if she had glimpsed into his life, it was only fair he did the same. Except for some minor conflicts with her parents she was sure there was nothing near as spectacular to entertain the knight as she got from him.

"You didn't answer my question", she said after a brief silence.

Saber kept the silence for a while, leaving Sabrina to wonder whether he was contemplating an answer or refusing it completely.

"You have witnessed what King Louis had told me? About being a knight and a king?", he then asked back.

"Yes...", she replied unsure. "He said something about both titles standing in conflict with each other."

"That is true. Thus I made the same experience. Oh, I found some honor in my time, but it grieves me to think about how much I had to squint my eyes before I was able to see it. And if you ask me whether I found a good cause to pledge my life for...", she heard him sigh. "I have the feeling it is right in front of me."

Sabrina frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I pledged my life to your cause, young lady", the knight said with utter sincerity.

Sabrina felt the blood rising to her cheeks.

"Don't be silly. I... I don't fight for anything worth fighting for..."

"You fight for yourself, don't you?", Richard asked back.

"Yes, sure... but...", she grimaced, thinking about the only stupid wish she had in the back of her head, a wish the knight surely would laugh about if she spoke it loudly. "I'm nobody important and I have nothing world-changing I want to use my wish for... There is no reason for you to put me on such a high pedestal."

The knight grunted.

"That might be right, little one. But like you I have nothing worthwhile to wish for as well. Only to satisfy my longing for a noble cause. I don't care for the Grail. This battle itself already fulfils my wish. Comparing my strength in battle with heroes from across space and time, and all this to protect an innocent lady, don't you see the poetry in that?"

 _So that's what he's going at..._

Sabrina's eyes narrowed when she looked at his ones, knowing exactly where he was.

"Oh great, so I'm the weak and innocent you vowed to protect", she crossed her arms defensively. "Very chivalrous of you. That might have been poetic in your time, but I don't want you to see me like some helpless victim of this war. Yes, I have not chosen myself to participate. Nevertheless I have decided to make the best of it and I was the one who decided we should strike out! I'm more aware of what we're doing here than you give me credit for."

She looked intently at the place he stood at until his features were absolutely clear for her to see. Much to her confusion he seemed not surprised about her answer at all. He laughed as if she had made a stupid joke.

"If my words have given that impression, I humbly beg your pardons, petite lionne", Richard said after he calmed down. "I am your sworn sword. I pledged my loyalty to your cause. If I haven't found you worthy of that loyalty, I wouldn't have accepted the bond we share between Master and Servant. You know my history, you know that even the bonds of kinship were not a guarantee for me to accept the doings of my father. You however are nothing like my father. You have a good soul, little lady, and that makes me not only the protector of your person, but your interests."

Sabrina grimaced.

"Yeah, you want me to see you as my knight in shining armor, right? Just because I am unable to defend myself against the likes of you and need your protection..."

Saber shook his head, he grew much serious from one moment to the next.

"Forgive me, young lady, but this was never my intention. You do me injustice by claiming it was. I believe it is no shame to have to rely on my sword since I honestly doubt any human in this world is able to cross swords with a Heroic Spirit and survive the encounter. So there is no dishonor in me protecting you. And don't think I cannot see your strengths just because I am a knight. A single glance into your eyes was enough for me to see. You have a fire only few women in my age had, but I should know. One of them was my mother."

 _His mother? Come on, that's what you see in me?_

"So that's... wait, your mother was locked up in a castle for years, you said yourself it was like in some fairy tale! That's not in any way better!"

Saber leaned back, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Have you seen how she got out of it?"

"Huh? No, I'm afraid not."

His amusement was plainly written across his face.

"Shortly after the death of my father I've sent Sir William to the castle she was confined in with orders to release her. And it turned out I never needed to do so. She was already set free at the time he arrived in England. The queen ordered her captors firmly to release her... and they did!"

Sabrina gulped.

"Sounds like a pretty forceful woman", she admitted.

"Aye. She was quite infamous for her temper. She never in her life raised a sword, mind you, but this never stopped her to command her own troops during the second crusade and overrule poor Louis at every decision... some chroniclers liked to portray her as Amazon Queen Penthesilea come again. A quite fitting portrayal if you ask me", the knight smirked. "Even if I heeded her advice in regards of ruling more than her advice of tactics."

While Sabrina was thinking about his words, the long awaited bus turned into the street. Since there were several other people in there, she thought it was better to cease her conversation with Saber until after they had arrived at the other end of the town. So she kept quiet and silently watched the dark shapes of lantern-lit buildings and streets trail past them as they crossed through Einzbern. A quarter of an hour later they had arrived where Sabrina wanted to lead them. After she stepped out of the bus and watched the vehicle and the motorcycle following it disappear together with the lights they've emitted, darkness swallowed the place. It was a deserted industrial park, that was pretty much the only thing she knew about it. Until now Sabrina was rarely in need to visit this place.

 _It is perfect_ , she assured herself. _A battle here would draw no attention at all._

She took one of the side paths and left the more frequented main rode where the occasional car had burst through the darkness. Saber was at her side, glancing backwards with a worried expression.

"What is it?", she asked him. "Have we already been found out?"

It was exactly what she had planned, but the prospect of the battle in the darkness made her shiver nonetheless. Her knightly companion however grimaced.

"I am not so sure", Richard said. "I have just the feeling that we're being watched, but there is no-"

He stopped and turned around. Sabrina herself followed his eyes to the front. She didn't saw anything, but she heard something. A distant roar of many mechanical engines. And it came closer.

"Is that-"

"Yes", Saber said abruptly, giving her a confident smile. "We are being challenged."

Instinctively Sabrina clutched her right hand, covering the red sword-symbol marked on it. She was a Master. Not one by choice, but it was her decision to make the most of it. She wouldn't back down. She would stay and fight.

"Very well, let's show that one what we've got, Saber", she returned his smile, hoping she looked as confident as he did.

Then they waited. The distant roars came closer, but it seemed to take them forever until they were able to see them. And when they came into view, Sabrina's eyes narrowed. A surprisingly large number of lights shined into her eyes, blinding her. It were motorcycles.

 _So many? I thought Masters are supposed to work alone, only letting their closest allies know what they've got into._

She took a deep breath and faced the tide of bikers unflinchingly, even after it had parted around her and they began to circle the young girl, shouting and yelling incomprehensibly. They thought they could look menacingly, but if they waited for Sabrina to be cowed, she intended to disappoint them. And after her eyes adjusted to the rotating cones of light she realized it weren't all that many bikers after all. Eight at most, even if the darkness made it difficult to properly count.

Then the circle halted.

Directly in front of Sabrina stood a biker wearing a leather jacket with purple insignias on it. It was a woman with long black hair and while her left hand gripped the handle of her bike, her right hand held a long spear with a glowing golden tip. But it was her face that caught her attention the most. It was a long, but sharp face with red eyes. Sabrina had to admit she looked strikingly beautiful.

 _Is this supposed to be Rider?_

"So it is true. The other Master is just a little girl?", another voice spoke up.

Sabrina turned to its source and saw another woman following directly behind the Servant. She wore a similar jacket, but this one had a purple Mohican hairstyle, marking her as originating from the current time to Sabrina. If she was the Master, it was difficult to see because her arms were completely covered in tattoos. Sabrina frowned about that. She looked around and saw that roughly half of the bikers were female, but all of them looked at her rather grimly.

"As it seems. This Grail War is a stranger affair than I had anticipated", the spear-toting woman spoke back.

Her tone was clear and commanding, effortlessly overcoming the noise of their still running engines.

"My age is of no matter to you", Sabrina spoke up, both to the Servant and to the woman she hoped was the Master. "I have come to battle you, this is all that matters."

The Servant on the bike just looked past her.

"Show yourself, coward! Or are you hiding behind the skirt of your little Master?", she demanded.

It grated Sabrina that she was being ignored and hoped Saber was going to teach her a lesson. As if on cue the crimson knight materialized, his eyes focused on his opponent, his smile having turned slightly sinister. But he seemed not eager to jump right into battle. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his left one with the shield hung casually in the air.

"I could turn that question very well around. I came to face a Heroic Spirit of great renown, but all I see is a pretty flower pretending to be a knight", Sabers unusually harsh words caused Sabrina to shoot him a confused glance.

The enemy Servant's gaze however could have killed a lesser man.

"You are a fool if you truly believe my spear is not as sharp as that of any man."

"And you are a proud one at that. Interesting", Saber chuckled. "I don't doubt your weapon, fair lady, I doubt the strength of the arm wielding it. I fear for my honor being stained if I drench my sword in the blood of a woman."

"Fear not, since it will be your blood which will be spilled!", she replied darkly, nodding to the other bikers.

They took the sign and moved their bikes away, making room for the battle to happen. With all the spotlights being turned away from them and even the enemy Servant disappearing into the darkness in front of them, it was as if the night reclaimed the street they were standing on and swallowed them.

 _She wants to charge us..._ , Sabrina realized aghast and turned to her companion.

On the first glance he seemed to completely ignore what was happening, watching the enemy Servant with a smug expression and remaining in his composure that made him look like he wasn't bothered by the threat of assault in the least. But there was more to it. Sabrina had spent enough time with him to know the signs. All the muscles in his arm and his chest under the mail were strained and tense in anticipation. Whatever his strategy was, it confused her.

"Saber?", she said.

"Don't move", he whispered.

They silently watched how their enemy turned her bike around. Now it was only a single blinding spotlight facing them. Sabrina gulped when the supposed Rider let her engine roar and charged them head on. But she trusted Richard's grasp on the situation and stayed where she were when the light became faster and faster when she accelerated. The shining bronze tip was lowered into their view, a dark thorn promising murder. Sabrina tensed, her body urged her to jump away, but through sheer force of well she kept her feet where they were, only following the charging warrior with her eyes. It all happened in within seconds. Sabrina whirled around, the noise of a muffled impact and something sharp scratching wood in her ears. The Servant on the motorcycle had attacked Saber, but he had effortlessly pushed the spear with his shield of red and gold away, only to bring himself out of harms way with a few fast steps. Sabrina was still able to feel the gust of wind and the smell of burned fuel after she had passed them. Their attacker turned around as well, pulling at the handlebar so hard the bike slid sideways across the asphalt. Saber never let her out of his view when he faced her again, but his sword was still sheathed, he had only blocked with the shield.

"A very pitiful attempt of a charge", the knight said dismissively. "One would assume using such a modern vehicle would make you able to overcome your physical limitations. Say, my lady, shan't we better find a more suitable opponent for you to face? Mayhaps a young boy or a fellow woman?"

 _Did he just say 'mayhaps'?_

The fierce and beautiful warrior snorted derisively.

"You will pay for your haughty words, fool! Mocking me will only increase my satisfaction with killing you."

Rider charged again, this time with fury. And Saber again blocked her blow easily and sidestepped the motorcycle while Sabrina's feet felt glued to the ground. She looked at his right hand. It didn't rest on the pommel anymore, it had gripped the whole hilt. In a vast contrast to this careless facade he gave Rider, his hand was twitching. He was nervous.

"Truly, slaying you would bring great shame upon me. Maybe me and my Master should just take our leave", he said.

"If you don't care to fight back then at least take down that shield and die", the enemy warrior hissed, turning her bike around for a third charge. "I don't have the patience waste my time with such an annoying fool."

Saber got ready, obviously intending to use his shield again. And Rider came, her spear in front lowered to skewer the horseless knight who had to face her on foot. Sabrina knew he was at a disadvantage this way, he needed to-

 _Oh no_...

Shortly before Rider reached her enemy, she made a sharp turn. And a fraction of a second later Sabrina was facing a shimmering golden spear-tip rapidly shooting into the direction of her face. She stumbled backwards, but the whispered warning of Saber rang in her ears. She knew escaping herself was nearly hopeless considering the supernatural aim of a Heroic Spirit. So she stood and waited. And saw the crimson knight tackling into the motorcycle basically at the last second. She breathed terrible relieve as she watched the bike scraping across the asphalt, only stopping when it reached the sidewalk. It was a bike without rider then, since the Servant had jumped off it and landed gracefully a few meters in front of Saber who himself idly stood next to his Master.

"Ah, I see. So you are not completely rooted to the ground you stand at, swordsman. I had already started to wonder...", she said teasingly, a vicious smile on her face.

Saber's grin had vanished, he looked at her sourly.

"Where is your pride now? I thought you took yourself for a knight, woman. My Master is not for you to attack", he said angrily, before turning to the shadows of the other bikers who stood in a very wide circle around the battlefield. "This goes to all of you as well. Lay a hand onto my Master and I will show no mercy. Your life will be forfeit, that's my word as a knight."

He turned back to his enemy, her smile hadn't faltered one bit.

"How chivalrous of you. I am sure your charge greatly appreciates your protective attitude. At least it gives you some motivation to show me more than empty words and taunts. Not enough to draw that pretty sword of yours, to be sure, but I will see how long it can remain sheathed before I kill you."

The knight grunted, but tried to return to his previous smile:

"What confident words from a Rider without mount. Say, shall I wait until you have retrieved it so that you can regain the advantage? You seem to have a great need of one if you need to retort to threatening a child in your struggles against my shield..."

"Oh don't make me laugh, you would have never let me touch your Master, no matter the circumstances", the enemy warrior claimed. "And I will disappoint you with your assumption, useless fool of a man. Fighting on the back of a mount was an advantage I graciously gave you. Your thoughtless words have rid you of that."

Then suddenly the woman was engulfed by a shimmering blue light. After it had disappeared, her leather clothes were replaced by a darkly golden looking armor Sabrina assumed was made of bronze. Her long black hair was now hidden under a helmet with long cheekpieces and a green crest on its top and she wore a crescent shaped shield in addition to the spear she had already shown to them. Saber next to her grimaced slightly when he saw that and Sabrina thought she knew what that meant. He had missed the opportunity he was looking for.

"So you are not Rider", Saber stated in a worried tone. "Lancer then..."

 _Damn... so she was toying with him? Without 'Riding' as an ability fighting on a motorcycle she was just... well, a superhumanly strong ghost with a magical spear riding on an ordinary motorcycle. Seems she learned to ride that thing during her time in the modern world._

"Finally, realization dawns", Lancer commented darkly. "Now it is time for the fool to die."

She disappeared the same instant, her last movements making it look like she jumped foward. Sabrina's heard raced, this time her feet heeded the call. She hastily put some meters between herself and Saber so that she won't get caught into the crossfire. Behind her, she heard the impact. And she heard the scraping of metal on metal.

 _Wait, those sounds..._

She turned around and could not believe her eyes. It must have happened in these precious few seconds of Lancer's jump, because when she had reached Saber, he had already greeted her with his blade. Excalibur was drawn. And the sword of legends was singing. What glimpses Sabrina got from Lancer's face made her distress clear when Saber drove her across the street with his powerful blows. Her own weapon was constantly knocked aside, every time causing the tip to cut a deep furrow through the asphalt whenever it touched the ground. Saber continued with his onslaught. Each step caused the ground to tremble and the sandals of his opponent buried themselves into the ground just from the force of impact whenever the sword crashed into the crescent shield. Sabrina had seen Saber fight Archer on equal grounds, but this was something different. He had caught her off-guard and it showed in that he utterly dominated the fight until that point. Within the next few seconds the street under their feet was completely devastated and the way she was pressed backwards caused the bikers around them to gape in disbelieve.

 _Go, get her!_ , she thought triumphant.

But it was just too good to go on forever. At some point, it all happened far to fast to actual see it, but she saw the repercussions, Lancer had managed get her spear up again without it getting knocked to the ground and struck at Saber's head. He evaded, though it gave him enough pause so that he lost his advantage and Lancer was able widen the distance between them with a few quick stabs. Realizing to have utterly lost the opportunity, Saber didn't try to follow up and let her retreat. When the two Servants faced each other again, Sabrina realized the huge bleeding gash on Lancer's right hip. Neither of them paid the wound much attention, but Sabrina was sure her companion had struck deeply and straight through her armor.

"Ah, that's what I wanted to see!", the crimson knight called out with an acknowledging smile. "What pride! And you have the sense and caution to justify it! A true warrior queen as expected."

Lancer looked startled at this unexpected praise.

"Your words will never balance out your initial insults, fool. What are you trying to say?"

Richard made a face under this red beard of his, seemingly unhappy about her reaction.

"I am very sorry if my mocking words cut deeper than my sword, my lady", he made a deep bow. "I just wanted to prove a theory of mine after I first lay my eyes upon you. That you are more than a mere warrior, but a member of the legendary tribes the ancient Greeks feared so much. And I needed to see that well know pride of yours with my own eyes before I was able to judge you as a worthy opponent."

 _Him wanting to see her messing up her defence in her fury was more likely._

"Taunts?", Lancer said aghast. "You must think yourself for a very sly creature, bastard."

"As I said, I am deeply sorry if I hurt you", he chuckled. "You however never really took me for the fool I made myself look like, don't you? Or at least it hadn't tarnished your combat effectiveness."

Lancer snorted, but didn't answer.

"Well, I got the answer I had sought. You are truly an Amazon, a legendary pagan warrior who traces her lineage back to their god Ares, that's what I thought when I first saw you. And your well honed instincts betray that lineage. You are one of these prideful woman warriors who had enslaved their men or only took that of neighboring countries when they were in need of children. A folk of woman, more warlike than any other Greek state."

"People fear cultures they don't understand. And the Greeks were especially fond of embellishing their stories to scare their children and to keep their wives down", Lancer groaned, she lay on her spear. "Their fear of our spears was more justified though. Something you are going to learn today. Getting killed by me is an honor I even doubt you are worthy for though."

It emitted a golden light clearly to see for everyone in the street. Sabrina decided to step further away from Saber, nearly running into one of the bikers in the process. This magical glow was not a good sign. It reminded her far too much of the glow Excalibur bore when it was activated.

 _She is going to use her Noble Phantasm. Look out, Saber..._

Likely hearing her thoughts, Richard tensed and put his shield forward again. Excalibur was at his side, ready to strike out.

"Now then, I promise you the time of falsehoods is over. Let us begin the real battle!", Saber said confidently. "On fair ground like the Heroic Spirits we are."

Lancer nodded. And jumped forward. Both disappeared in a whirl. Sabrina could not help but only gape at the spectacle in amazement. The movements of both warriors were far too fast to follow. All she could see were strikes of gold and silver clashing against each other while the red and the bronze coloured figures danced around each other. Excalibur was singing again. And the cursed spear of Lancer as well. And their music was thoroughly destructive. The street burst open, bricks of the sidewalk were sent flying after they had danced toward it and even a street light was cut into pieces when they came near it. The bikers must have realized as well, whenever the two combatants just threatened to come near them, they took their bikes and fled in haste. Nobody was eager to get caught in the crossfire. Sabrina herself also retreated after the first pieces of debris headed her way. She knew she had to watch the fight, but she preferred to do that from somewhere where she didn't feel so vulnerable. While she headed towards the shadows of a nearby alley she heard the shout behind her. It was the voice of Lancer:

" **Diffidentia**!"

Sabrina whirled around. Her eyes widened when she saw Saber stumbling backwards, a small, but profoundly bleeding wound in his right shoulder. He managed to bring his shield between the two and interrupted the attack she tried to follow up with, but the damage was done. She had cut through his mail and successfully used her Noble Phantasm on him.

 _Saber..._

" _It's okay, petite lionne._ _It's okay. Just a scratch_ ", she heard his voice in her head.

 _It's not okay, who knows what nasty magic she cursed you with?_

" _I don't feel a thing except for that little cut, so for me it's okay. Don't worry and look for a safe hiding place. I can handle her._ "

Sabrina gulped and nodded, not caring that he couldn't see her. Not bothering about any repercussions of the Noble Phantasm, Saber charged again, Excalibur with its runes in the air. He still hadn't activated, maybe he thought he could take her on with his strength and ability alone.

 _Maybe he knows what he's doing. Lancer's reach is both her best advantage and her worst setback. If he manages to close in deeply, he might be able to take that Amazon out with one swift stroke._

Sabrina retreated into the shadows, leaning against the edge of a ruined building so that it gave her some amount of cover from the debris. The bikers at least saw the same problems and fled to all sides when fighting became tense again. Even in the darkness it was visible how much of a wasteland this part of the street had become in so short a time, she didn't want to see how it looked like under the light of the sun.

 _Come on, Saber. Don't let me down! I know you can defeat her!_

She was so busy in her silent prayers she never saw the shadow overcoming her. It was the stink she smelled first. It reminded her of wet fur and excrements and... wild animals in a zoo. With a chill in her bones she turned around, but at that point it was already too lade. A huge brown paw struck into her neck, claws tearing through both her skin and the fabric of her jacket. Sabrina's legs gave way and she was pushed to the ground by the impact, the pressed out of her lungs. She looked up, coughing. And she looked into the green eyes of a huge bear.

 _What the-_

It tried to snap at her, but this time Sabrina was faster. She rolled to the side and then jumped onto her feet. She ran, past the beast and deeper into the shadows of the alley she had found herself in. Everything was instinctive, she only cared for her own live. Howls and growls accompanied her steps when more green eyes emerged from the shadows around her. Wolves. Lots of them. It was the attack in the woods all over again. The attack Saber needed to save her from. Aghast she realized she was running into the opposite direction of her saviour. And directly into a sounder of boars which were running towards her from the front. Four of them, huge beasts with horribly sharp looking curved tusks. She realized she was encircled, whirling around she looked into the fangs of a wolf jumping at her face.

"Saber!", she screamed.

A blue flash illuminated the alley and the jumping wolf was struck down by a crimson figure. Crimson were also the drops of blood Sabrina was splattered with by the dead creature. She even got some into one of her eyes and she rubbed the stinging fluid of it while the noise of Excalibur cutting both air and flesh was audible all around her. When she had opened both of her eyes again, Saber stood in front of her and she was surrounded by numerous massacred animals of all sizes, all of them evaporating into black mist.

"Good thing I hadn't had to jump so far", he commented with a reassuring grin. "Everything alright, little one?"

He looked not at her face, but at the scratches on her throat. They weren't very deep, the creature didn't manage to land the deadly blow it wanted because of her falling to the ground.

"It's okay, I'm fine, I-"

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when Saber gasped in pain, going to his knees. Not knowing what to do, she wanted to catch his fall with her arms, but he pushed her roughly away and whirled around, raising his sword into the air. It all happened within seconds, but the bits and pieces were immediately for her to see. A single wooden arrow was deeply stuck in his shoulder. And when her eyes followed the trail of his sword, see saw the silhouette of a man standing above them on the roof of one of the buildings. The man had a bow in his hand.

 _Archer?_ , she realized aghast.

Saber didn't give him the chance to strike again.

" **Excalibur**!", he screamed and a golden beam of light swallowed the darkness in front of them.

It was so blinding, Sabrina's eyes took several seconds to adjust the sudden return of the darkness thereafter. The silhouette was away. And the upper floors of the forgotten industrial building looked like the cracked shell of an egg with deep tears running across the structure.

"Is he-"

"Away", Saber grunted immediately, then looking back towards the street they came from. "And my dear friend Lancer as well."

Sabrina couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. It was far too confusing.

"Immoral bastard, attacking a Master while we were busy fighting a fair duel", he cursed, his expression pained and angry.

She too focused on the arrow to pay him any attention. It was a simple thing with a feathered shaft and a lightly coloured wood.

"Shall I?", she said unsurely.

"Go on. Push against my back with the other hand, so that you need only one strong pull."

Sabrina nodded and proceeded the way the knight proposed. It was a horrible affair and the wound began to bleed quite a lot before it had closed itself with his magical healing abilities. But it was worth it so that Sabrina could take a look at the arrowhead before it evaporated in a blue mist.

"Bronze", she said with wide eyes. "So it is true."

"Nothing is true, we have an alliance", Saber said grimly, but his nervousness about the fact was clear to see.

"You saw him yourself! It was Archer! He betrayed us!"

"Impossible. He wouldn't act so dishonorable", he shook his head, looking miserable. "We have an alliance."

"Oh to hell with the alliance, you saw what he did! There is only one Archer and Ramesses is from the Bronze Age!"

Anger flared up in her. Anger at Archer for his cruel jape of a contract. Anger at Kai for looking too innocent for his own good. Anger at Saber for being far too trusting. And most of all anger at herself for allowing all this to happen. Sabrina promised to herself that she wouldn't let that treachery go unpunished.


	11. Chapter 10 - Kai

Chapter 10 - Kai

Kai had found himself in the wildly looking garden of Sabrina Falk, a door slammed shut in front of him after he was shoved outside.

"Now, that wasn't very hospitable, was it?", he told his ghost companion.

Archer seemed unfazed.

"The non-existence of rules of hospitality in your world never cease to surprise the king", Ramesses replied dryly.

Kai groaned. His Hem still seemed a bit sore about their initial encounter and him trying to lock the ghost out of his house. He had already apologized several times over, but wondering a bit more with each apology what he had done wrong in the first place. Ramesses should have admitted that he came around like a creep the day before.

"So, what now?", he asked the Heroic Spirit instead of pondering on past.

"Whatever you should choose to do, Nab Kai."

 _Not helpful..._

Their alliance with Sabrina and Saber was a good first step and after she had told him how she spent her time scouting Einzbern he was eager to pick up the same habit. Initially at least. As soon as he had set a foot outside the world suddenly looked much larger, Einzbern suddenly looked much larger. He wanted to strike out, but without any direction he was a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities. Kai walked out of Sabrina's property and thought a bit about directions while walking the street back towards his school. It would get easer if he started from ground more familiar to him, he thought. Therefore he reached the school building surrounded by howling fire department cars.

"Taking on the mountains wouldn't be such a good idea right now", he told Archer. "If we take into account that the Einzberns are likely the only ones who have properly prepared for this Grail War thing, we should get more allies first..."

"The king agrees", the ghost said. "The king marched into unknown territory only if he was sure of his advantages."

 _Sure of his advantages..._

"Then let's at first go into the central part of town. Even if we run into another team they won't dare attack us in public."

"This way the king and Nab Kai could gather information before engaging in a battle", Archer continued. "A valid strategy."

Kai felt the pride rise in his chest. He had entered this battle without his consent, but now that he had seen what was at stake he at least wanted to make the best of it. Maybe they were able to somewhat limit the damage to Einzbern after all...

The marked district of Einzbern was a crowded place full of people. Mostly older pensioners and parents with little children, but also more than a few students who were gathering whatever they needed from store today. Kai didn't belong to them, he just walked up the streets, waiting for Archer to warn him like a huge, pharaoh-shaped proximity sensor. Servants being able to sense each other's presence sounded extremely strange, but it had worked with Sabrina's Saber after all.

"I have been thinking", Kai whispered after a while, not daring to talk louder in fear of people overhearing him and thinking him as being completely nuts.

Archer nodded and motioned him to continue. This way Kai wasn't quite sure whether it meant he had read his thoughts already, but for the sake of discussion he assumed not.

"Your Hotep en Netscher... It's just... I thought about the possibilities. You can truly write down any kind of agreement? Any single possible one?"

"So it is, Nab Kai. Under the assumption that both parties agree upon the terms."

"Okay... is... is it possible to phrase two contracts in a way that they create some kind of deadlock?"

He saw the spirit frowning in confusion.

"Why should anyone agree to such?"

"Maybe... because the deadlock is preferable to resolving the matter it is about", he said carefully.

"What is it you want to prevent, Nab Kai?"

Kai stopped mid-movement, knowing how sheepish he must have looked. For some reason he knew Ramesses wouldn't agree with his train of thought, but it pretty much jumped into his face the moment Archer explained the way his divine contract worked.

"Imagine we find another possible ally. And imagine now we create a contract with exactly the same phrasing like the one with Sabrina", he explained, wary about his reaction. "You see, we agreed to only attack each other after all five other Servants are killed. With a new contract of the same wording hostilities could only begin after anyone killed Saber. If we then also prevent hostilities between our two allies through the same means... We get three Servants unable to ever attack each other..."

"You would break the Grail War if these three are the last survivors", Archer stated coldly.

"That's exactly my thought", Kai admitted. "Nobody would feel the need to kill each other anymore."

Silence. Ramesses seemed deep in thought, every new second making Kai more uncomfortable as he remained quiet himself, only interrupted when he had to step out of the way of passing people.

"The king won't allow it", Archer finally said softly.

"Why not? Isn't peace always more preferable to violence?"

"In a kingdom? Yes. The king agrees. But this conflict is just between the seven Heroic Spirits. It is for the power of the Grail. It is a matter that needs to be resolved."

Kai shook his head, pondering how he should phrase it so that he was able to understand.

"It is the wish, sure... You want a miracle. But is your presence here not a miracle in itself? You are dead, a ghost, you died three thousand years ago. And yet you are here. Living. Even breathing. It is a second chance for you!"

Archer glared at him in a way he had rarely seen before.

"It is not a second life the king is fighting for, Nab Kai, be assured of that. Even then, this current state the king had found himself in... it is a fickle existence."

"What do you want to say? If nobody claims the Grail and everyone ceases fighting, what is going to happen with you? Aren't you remaining on Earth?"

"No. The king's death is a fact this planet is going to correct. A Heroic Spirit is powered by the energy accumulated over several decades in the Grail itself. It only holds enough to grant life for a few weeks. As soon as the Grail is depleted and stops supporting the king and all other active Hems at the time, they all cease to exist. Only the strongest sorcerers could manage to support one on its own and neither you nor Nab Sabrina are strong enough."

 _Only a few weeks_ , Kai realized aghast. _He isn't joking when he calls that a fickle existence._

"Then make the best of it", he protested. "Come on! Three thousand years! Isn't it thrilling to see how much mankind has accomplished in the meantime?"

Archer took a step backwards and watched over the busy townscape. Cars were driving along, traffic lights changed colours and the people all around were hurrying to wherever they were heading towards. The pharaoh sighed deeply.

"People are people, no matter the age. The king would be forced to lie if he has to say he isn't impressed by the technological progress, but wasting his time in this alien world of yours would bring shame upon the responsibility he still has."

"Why? I don't understand, I can't understand. Dead sounds pretty final to me, so how can you still have some unfinished business? Everyone you must have known is dead! Your empire has contributed its share to history and doesn't exist anymore! Nobody is forcing you to do anything anymore!"

A woman with two shopping bags shot him a confused glance while passing, causing Kai to grimace sheepishly. Meanwhile Archer looked down on him with a serious expression. His usual face always bordered to being bored, but right now he was showing Kai a coldness he had never seen in him before. He shuddered.

"The king himself does", Archer growled. "You wouldn't understand. You are still too young."

"And too alive, I guess", Kai shot back, angry at being belittled like this.

The pharaoh stared at him grimly.

"No. Young", he insisted.

"What wish could be so important to you that it is worth murdering six other people for it?", Kai replied. "You are right, I can't understand. So please, enlighten me. Make me understand!"

"The wish of the king is of no concern to you", Ramesses answered defensively.

That took him aback. It might have been because he was used to the pharaoh carefully explaining him all he knew about the Grail War, but now evading the question was something unusual for him.

 _Is it so personal to him? Is it so embarrassing for him? Of course my own wish is also... but no, it can't be._

He looked down to his right hand. The blood red carving with its small eerie glow was there. He held it up between him and the invisible ghost.

"I know I have no right to peek into your life and yet I was forced to do so this night. I believe it has a purpose. Everything here has a purpose. And I am your Master."

"Indeed, Nab Kai", the trace of a frown carved itself into his brows.

"We have to work together... We need to trust each other, I think this is the reason for my dream. But this... I see a way to end this fight peacefully and yet you refuse that option. Is it really so bad to resolve the conflict peacefully? Is it so bad to make friends out of those enemies?"

He himself also had to lie if he had to say the prospect of learning to know five other historical people wouldn't be thrilling. The more the merrier. Some might refuse because they as well feel their wishes need fulfilment. But it seemed a complete waste that the Servant who held the key to breaking this mindless slaughter belonged to such a faction.

"It is not bad to stop fighting. You must believe that the king finds your proposal truly admirable and would gladly avoid the conflict, if there would be an alternative to obtain the Grail. But you must accept that the king's cause won't allow a draw. The king has to go into battle and the king needs to prevail."

"But why?", Kai complained. "It makes no sense! No sense at all!"

Archer crossed his arms, continuing to watch him grimly. Kai still stood there at the edge of the sidewalk, not knowing what to do. Having taken back his hand, Kai clutched at the Command Spells with the other one.

"I could make you tell me your reasoning, you know", he said warily.

The pharaoh raised both his eyebrows.

"You wouldn't waste a Command Spell for such a triviality."

 _Probably not, no..._

"Then explain me what I shall do instead?", Kai said sighing. "I may never know why I should be trusting you then. In anything. You drag me into this conflict of yours, you keep telling me my life is going to be in danger and your wreck my school in an attempt to kill Richard fucking Lionheart! And now you refuse to look for a peaceful solution. I start to think Saber misunderstood you. You probably are more bloodthirsty than he gave you credit for. You cannot possibly have a valid reason to allow such carnage and the possibility of more to happen!"

Archer's eyes narrowed.

"Do you truly think the king is participating in this conflict for fun? Do you truly think the king has answered the call of the Grail if without sore need for it?", his Servant suddenly thundered.

He glared at him threateningly, but now that he had gotten at least that much emotion out of that rigid bastard, he wouldn't let him off the hook.

"Well, it seems it is. Otherwise you wouldn't be so shy to enlighten me!", he hissed, resulting in more than a few confused stares from the crowd.

Anger flashed up at Archer's face. And for one moment Kai feared he went too far. He gulped and stepped back, unable to guess how the Servant was going to react.

 _Damn you, Kai, you speak to a fucking pharaoh! I doubt he had ever faced someone daring to talk back to him..._

"I will tell you, Nab Kai, but the king guarantees you that you cannot understand the pain he has to endure. Not now. Not yet. If you tell the king you understand, it will be a presumption the king cannot allow."

"What?", this was all he was able to say to that, his mind was empty.

It was then Archer told him and every single word was pure acid:

"The king has caused the death of his son."

Kai blinked. He had expected something harsh, but also something having to do with his kingdom and not something that personal.

"I- I... I am sorry", he blurted out, it was all he could do.

Archer wouldn't hear it. He turned around and his invisible shadow disappeared in a golden mist. No matter where Kai looked at, he couldn't find him anymore. It was like a punch into his gut... and he had the ill feeling Archer must have felt the same. And it was odd as well. From one moment to the next Kai felt strangely alone. The bowmen never left his side since the day before, even guarding the house while he slept. And now it took only the turning of a back and a few seconds to rip his whole presence from him. This must have been the power of their connection. Kai grimaced uncomfortably and looked around. The busy street took no further notice of what had happened.

 _What am I even doing here anymore?_

He pushed on, taking the right turning, then the left. He never got very far from the main street, but he did leave the places which were the most busy. It was frustrating. He kept pushing on, but without Archer it was a completely fruitless attempt and he knew it. Any Servant he would come across would be in Spirit Form and without Archer he had no way to see them. And if one wouldn't be invisible... A sense of dread crept up through his guts. He looked around. He was now among several apartment blocks. Some people were on the sidewalk, he saw several on the balconies and a few cars and a single biker on a motorcycle passed him. He was by all means not alone, but he wasn't protected by a crowd either.

 _They wrecked the school... it's madness to look for a Servant on my own._

Kai shook his head in resignation and decided to go back home. There was nothing he could do anymore. He went to the next bus stop and then to the familiar suburb he lived in. During the whole trip Archer was nowhere to see.

 _He never intended for me to know... I shouldn't have been so forceful about it... it was too personal a matter._

He still pondered about the wording though when he left the bus and walked the last bit to his parents' house.

 _He caused his death... unwittingly? So he just wants to redo a tragic mistake?_

Ramesses had lots and lots of children, that was something he had found out during his research. Finding out which one he was talking about should be nigh impossible, especially with the scarce information people have about most of them. It was still weird how much Archer was angered by his demand for clarity.

 _So what is he going to do now? Abandoning me, looking for another Master?_

He couldn't blame him. He openly stated how much better a true sorcerer would be in contrast to his pitiful self. Maybe he was already trying to contact the Einzberns in their fancy old castle. He was imagining the pharaoh negotiating with a pale vampire in black when he closed the garden door behind him and walked up to the front door. But on the other hand Ramesses seemed strangely glad about not having a sorcerer. He didn't really know what that was supposed to meant.

But then it all happened in a split second. It was a black shadow that had prowled through the garden behind the wall of the building, but the moment Kai realized it was there it had already taken one huge leap onto him. He staggered backwards, but it was already to late. Kai crashed hard into the hedges to his left and his world turned into a swirl of green leaves, brown sticks and black fur.

"Urgh..."

The beast had pushed himself to the ground. A wolf. Far bigger than he had ever imagined them. His mind raced. The words of Sabrina echoed in his mind. The creatures that attacked her. The creatures they both expected to belong to another Servant. How could he be so stupid? How could he expect to be not a target when parting ways with Archer? How... was he not dead yet?

 _What the..._

The beast had pinned him down, but with his whole body. Its legs lay stiff on the ground and the head with the mouth that had at first tried to bite into his throat just leaned against his neck. He struggled under the monster and managed to throw it off him. It gave no resistance at all and its weight soon went down when it began to dissolve into a black mist. Still on the ground Kai saw the glimmering golden arrow deeply struck in its neck. And when he raised and struggled to get out of the bushes he fell into... he saw several more of these beast in his garden. All dead. All looking as if struck in the middle of their charge. And all were killed by the same golden arrows. He whirled around. And he saw him standing on the roof of a nearby house, lowering the sapphire-blue bow of his.

"Archer!", Kai called out.

The pharaoh disappeared in a golden mist, only to reappear directly next to him, scowling.

"You have returned, you...", Kai blurted out before remembering what the Servant just did. "I mean... thank you."

Archer made a very small bow, saying:

"It seems the enemy thought the king wouldn't be nearby anymore."

"I thought you wouldn't be nearby anymore", Kai sheepishly admitted. "I just... I'm sorry for pressuring you, I shouldn't have done that. I guess these critters were my karma."

"Might be", the bowman grunted, only for it to turn into a soft sigh. "But the reaction of the king was short-sighted and it could have cost your life. Your curiosity was just too much of a reminder..."

Kai gulped. He wanted to ask further, but thinking about Archer's previous reaction, he tried to drop the matter. He waved towards the door and offered the ghost to come in while the carcasses of the beasts had already completely vanished. He wasn't eager to get seen talking to the weird pharaoh by the neighbours which were strangely absent at this point.

"Have you seen who had sent them?", he asked on the way to the living room.

"No. The king only saw these familiars forming themselves where they appeared. Their summoner was outside of the king's reach again", he said matter-of-factly.

The way he so casually spoke about the attack made Kai feel uneasy. He was barely able to process what had just happened, he just understood that he couldn't leave the side of Archer for a second without having to fear for his life. He was simply too shocked to react properly aghast.

"Wait... again? You have already seen those things?", he asked confused.

"Indeed. They and similar creatures were present at the king's summoning and he dispatched them while you retreated to safety."

Kai could not help but gape at him for several seconds.

"I never... why didn't you tell me?"

"At the time it seemed obvious to the king that you noticed, but after it turned out you were oblivious to it, an opportunity to bring it up never arose."

"But...", he seated himself at the dinner table, facing the still standing Archer. "You understand what this means?"

"Indeed. Together with Sabrina and Saber experiencing the same attack, it is likely to be the same enemy."

Kai glanced through the window into the garden, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"We are being watched. We must be. Right now?"

"Most likely", Archer said, being tranquillity incarnate, even though Kai could have sworn to see a hint of amusement in the corners of his mouth.

It must have been that sudden outburst of frustration from before, seeing him with so many emotions skewered Kai's perception of the pharaoh. He silently reminded himself to pretend he never saw that one.

"Okay, fine. How do we get rid of that one?"

"The king lacks the ability to track such an enemy. Nab Kai and the king need to find a way to lure him out."

He had absolutely no idea how he should act as well. He doubted even Saber could be able to make a difference. The Lionheart was... more of the direct approach. But they needed to drag this enemy out of his hiding place... and Kai had no idea how.

"Okay... Let's postpone that then", he said.

"Agreed."

"So... what now? Doing it like Sabrina does? Going out and continue to prowl the town?"

The pharaoh twitched a bit uncomfortably.

"It seems unlikely an enemy will show itself in the light of day without the option to strike back at once."

"Yeah, it looks like you're right. So shall we do it exactly like Sabrina? Waiting for the night and then got out hunting?"

"Her tactic seemed sound", Archer decided and Kai just had to agree.

Kai saw her point as well. He decided on short notice to wait for the sun to go down. Maybe they even run into them, so they could try to take on their unknown enemies together. They should make use of that alliance after all and not simply use it as a truce. Now it just came to the question how to spend the meantime. Kai had no further homework to do and considering the sorry state of the school it seemed unlikely it would do a difference if he had some. Spending a few hours sleeping also seemed like a bad idea. After that sudden attack from before he was bright awake and knew he couldn't close a single eye.

 _So what now? Asking Archer for a few more bits about his time? After that went so well the last time..._

"Why not talk about you, Nab Kai?"

He gulped.

 _Bloody Vulcan Mind Melt!_

Ramesses frowned.

"You now know the reason for why the king craves the Grail. To undo a mistake he can't forgive himself. It is just fair that you now tell the king of your wish."

"Well, I kind of have to, I guess", Kai said grimacing. "Compared to your wish mine won't do me much good though. It is so selfish and nonsensical that you'll likely think me mad. This is also likely the reason why I was so eager to break this Grail War peacefully, because I simply don't care about success."

Archer now seated himself in front of him, patiently waiting for his words. There was no way out.

"I have told you yesterday that I don't know my true parents", he began after some hesitation.

"So you want them back?"

"Not necessarily... I think. It's just weird, I cannot really grasp how powerful this Grail of yours is and how it would realize my wish... and what the results of that would be. I want to play safe, you know. I have parents. I would never miss them. It's just... I would just like to know who my other parents were... how they were. I know it's weird."

"And you have no means to find out without the Grail?"

Kai shook his head.

"I already went to all who could have information about them. It is actually pretty scary how little evidence there is they even existed in the first place. They liked their privacy, that is sure. That's why... I just want to talk with them a bit... maybe in the same way I'm currently talking to Ramesses the Great. Just to find out what kind of people my parents were."

Archer looked quite serious about that, much to Kai's surprise. He expected to see disappointment in his lack of ambition, but his reaction was strangely positive.

"You must think me a total idiot... getting the chance of an omnipotent wish and that's all I could come up with", he admitted. "I should try to reach the stars and instead I'm just stuck in a past I don't even know would be worthwhile."

"No... no it isn't, Nab Kai. It is a good wish", he said stoically.

"What? Are you making fun of me?"

"The king would never do so", Archer assured him. "You have your whole live in front of you to reach the stars with your own strength. Claiming them on your own is a far more noble ambition. Instead you want to use the Grail to regain knowledge that is lost forever. The king sees no problem with that."

"Yes, but... you say so yourself... I could strive for lost knowledge, far more than something so oddly selfish."

The pharaoh folded his hands in front of him, studying Kai with a curious stare.

"The people of Kemet believed that every human soul is preserved through memory", he explained. "As long as there is a single person alive who is remembering your name, you are practically immortal in afterlife. The king's presence in this modern time is the ultimate proof... that they were right. So the way the king sees it, you simply try to retrieve the immortal souls of your true parents. The king cannot describe how important such a mission is for yourself... to think that those who have brought you into live are doomed to oblivion... No, Nab Kai, be assured, your path is as necessary as mine."

Kai nodded, but he still wasn't quite assured. He was glad he had the support of Archer, but he was less glad that he the support only because his wish coincided with more than three thousand years old believes.

 _Well, telling myself that I'm going to preserve their souls through remembering might not be too bad after all._

"Thank you", he said sheepishly. "It's good to know where you stand...Well then... I guess I need to apologize again. I had no right to demand from you to abandon your son. If there is a chance to save him, you should take it. Don't worry. I will help you as much as I can."

Archer made a small bow while seated.

"Then the path to victory is clear ahead", he said stoic as ever.

"Yes. And I think I already have an idea where we should start..."

Several hours later Kai left a suspiciously empty bus and stepped into the darkest night. Back at the beginning. _Löwenplatz_. In the night the place at least didn't look as wrecked as it looked with daylight. But that was likely connected with the fact that he didn't have to look at the sorry ruins crumbling around him.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure where it was, to be honest", Kai admitted with a wary smirk.

"The king knows the way", Ramesses told him and the invisible ghost strode forward.

Kai had some trouble to keep up with his fast movements, but he was able to follow him and soon enough they stood in front of the abandoned yard he and the pharaoh had first met.

"It was the building to the left, wasn't it?", he said unsurely.

"It was", Archer replied.

"I'm not exactly sure I should go in there."

"You are afraid of an ambush, Nab Kai?"

"I'm more afraid of the ceiling collapsing above my head while the floor breaks under my feet. But yes, an ambush would also be pretty nasty."

They had left the house after it was already well after the first star shone in the sky. They talked quite a lot about mankind's history Ramesses had missed, but also about what the big events of his own time were. The hours passed like nothing and soon they had to hurry not to run into Kai's parents. Kai himself had left them a note that he was invited and it'll going to take a while, but was still unsure how he would explain his nightly tours if they happen more often.

But right now he had to explore this broken shell of a building. He grabbed his flashlight and trusted in Archer's ability to get him out of trouble. He had to lie if he had to say it was not scary. The inside of the factory was completely void with the stink of rust and pee in the stale air. It was disgusting. Several of the walls had collapsed and sharp remnants of steel and bricks were strewn across the rooms. He had to tread very carefully not to cut himself to pieces. Especially when he and Archer climbed the steps to the first floor where the magic summoning circle was supposed to be located.

"Where is it?", Kai asked.

The pharaoh silently pointed to a room to his right. The shattered door lay at the ground in front of the empty frame. He took care not to step on it. Archer then guided him towards some part of the floor. Kai looked at it in confusion.

"Was it like this when you left it?"

"No", Archer replied with a deep frown.

There was red paint, that was for sure. And he was also sure it could be pieced together to form some magical mandala. But the ground where it had been was completely shattered and the circle scattered in countless small pieces. The ground was pure concrete, it must have been a terrible force to crush it the way it was.

"Someone went out of his way to destroy it", Kai realized loudly.

Archer tensed then. Seeing him like that made Kai's heart plummet down into his bowels.

"The king and Nab Kai are not alone anymore. It is a challenge."

Kai kept his silence and listened. He heard some distant roar he remembered all too well.

 _No..._

He moved with the pharaoh to a collapsed wall nearby. It was likely the same Archer had used the day before to tower over his pitiful self and those biking jerks. And he suddenly felt a weird déjà-vu. Numerous single lights were prowling through the street outside the abandoned factory. Two of those entered the yard and parked in front of them. Those were not cars. It were motorcycles.

"Shall the king accept?", Archer asked in his most polite tone.

"I don't see much of a choice there", he smiled warily. "Let's go down and thrash them!"

He stepped back in order to return to the stairs, but Archer blocked his way with his arm. Startled, Kai tried to evade, but it was already too late. The pharaoh grabbed him under his armpit and lifted him into the air. Seconds later he was already in the plummeting down and they both crashed into the yard with a force that Kai gritted his teeth. After he was put down and was able to feel solid ground under his feet again, he hopped away silently cursing. That was a pretty nightmarish shortcut. And much to his chagrin Archer seemed completely disinterested in his panic, he was too focused on the two figures in front of them. To the left was a tall woman with long black hair in a leather outfit who dismounted from her bike which was badly covered in scratch marks on one side. Even in the shadow of the motorcycle's light Kai was able to make out her sharp features and unnatural aura. Dangerous was the first word going through his mind. Beautiful the second. Then he looked to his right and her Master. A woman in her mid-twenties with a purple Mohican and the same leather outfit. She was...

"You!", Kai called out aghast, much to the confusion of all who were present.

It was the biker who had spoken to him the day before. The same woman who was responsible for setting that crazy Nick-guy upon him.

"I'm sorry?", she asked back from the saddle of her motorcycle. "Do we know each other?"

"You let that moron loose who scared the hell out of me yesterday!"

Her eyes widened.

"You were that boy!"

"You know him?", her Servant asked amused.

´"Not really, he was just... wait, you are another one of these Magus people?", the biker Master asked.

Kai realized immediately that he was not confronted by a sorcerer, but just a fellow civilian dragged into the Grail War.

 _How many of the seven are like us?_

"I am not", he said immediately. "And you are most certainly not as well!"

She eyed him carefully.

"You are right about that..."

"A boy... what kind of conflict is this? Children wherever you look!", the unknown Servant commented with audible annoyance.

"A conflict we just kind of stumbled into, isn't it so?", Kai asked the Master eagerly.

"Why do you ask?", she replied.

"Because I'm pretty sure there must be someone who isn't. A Magus like you said. Did you met one already?"

"What has that do to with anything?", the Master asked evasively.

Now Kai knew he had to tread carefully. The Master seemed open to negotiations, but the aggressive stance of the Servant crept him up. She came to fight, that was for sure.

"I'm basically here to propose an alliance", he glanced at Archer, seeking for his approval, he gave no reaction. "Of course not forever. Just until we find out who is that Magus and defeat him!"

The Master was thinking. The Servant not.

"Yes, I agree with an alliance", she said with a vicious smile.

She didn't sound even a little bit sincere, irritating Kai.

"You do?", even her Master was confused.

"Oh yes. But first I'll have to show you my conditions."

And with this said the unknown Servant was engulfed in a storm of blue light. When it subsided, the biker uniform was replaced by a massive bronze cuirass covering her body. A crescent shaped shield and a spear with a golden glowing tip appeared in her hands as well. The carvings and artwork on shield and armor reminded him of pictures of ancient Greek art, a fact he tried to keep in mind. She then brought her spear forward, pointing with it at Archer.

"This weapon here is the only alliance I need", she explained smugly.

"The king understands, Lancer", and with a flash his blue bow appeared in his hand.

Kai groaned in dismay.

 _Haven't you learned your lesson after wrecking my school?_

" _The opponent of the king and Nab Kai has made her intention clear. The king only complies to her wish. Do not worry. The king will try to end it swiftly._ "

 _As long as you don't underestimate her..._

And then it happened. Lancer charged forward in a whirl and Archer disappeared. Kai had already seen that manoeuvre and knew what it meant. The bowman had jumped high into the air and attacked her with a volley of superhumanly drawn arrows all the while. Much to his surprise, this time Lancer wasn't engulfed by explosions. When she had stopped abruptly in her charge with her shield raised Kai realized that numerous ordinary wooden arrows with a golden glow were stuck in it and the ground around her. Before he was able to figure out what that meant, he saw that her spear was not in her hand anymore.

 _What the..._

He looked up to find out, but in this moment he already heard an awful crashing sound in the distance behind the bikers. Something had plunged a hole through the graffiti-filled brick wall surrounding the yard and had caused a part of it to collapse.

 _No!_

Kai wanted to get closer, but he needed to surround the bikes and the enemy to do that. Lancer however never spent much attention to him. She turned around and stepped towards the pile of rubble Archer was emerging from. He had a bleeding gash in his side, caused by the thrown spear that had pierced his gilded armor as if it wasn't even there. Lancer stretched her hand out and her weapon shot back into it while she was striding towards her wounded foe. Archer raised his bow, but glanced backwards. Right behind him was the sidewalk and the remaining motorcycles of the other bikers stood on the street there. He retreated slowly, taking a step with every step she did. All the while Kai himself tried to get closer to the scene.

"I am disappointed, bowman", Lancer mused. "I was hoping for someone who gave more of a fight. But oh well, It seems I can't expect more from someone shying away from close combat."

Archer just glared back, taking another step backwards. Now he was standing directly under a bright street light on the sidewalk.

 _Oh... good call._

A bolt of bright light shot from Archer's bow and struck the shield of a surprised Lancer when it exploded with quite a force. She didn't hesitate then and charged sideways away not to be an all too good target for the bowman. Several more dazzling lights were fired into her direction and exploded in the ground under her feet, but she evaded most of them instead of trying to block them. Instead she plunged through another segment of the wall to get behind him, but Archer had already left his position and soon both Servants disappeared outside of Kai's sight. He ran towards the entrance of the yard and Lancer's Master did the same, abandoning their bikes.

When he reached the street behind her, Kai needed some seconds to realize what happened there. Between the parking bikes and street lights a wild chase had ensued. Two golden figures with the first one having a streak of blue hunted each other jumping from street light to street light, all the while exploding beams of light darted around hitting the asphalt, the brick walls, the abandoned buildings around them and occasionally the charging Lancer. She had trouble to keep up the pace or at least she was pushed back each time she was hit by a bolt of light. But much to his dismay, Kay saw how the street lights flickered and died when each one was cut down by a blow of her destructive spear.

 _She is trying to cut him off of the light... Damn it, Archer, do something!_

If he did anything other than continuing the fight with more of the same, Kai didn't saw. When he ran out of street lights, he instead darted into the gaps between the bikers and their motorcycles. All these uniformed people just stared at them in silent amazement, only a few were reasonable enough to take their bikes and drive into the distance to not get caught up in the fight. Both of the Servants however seemed very careful not to harm anyone and the worst were some stumbling and falling in shock when a projectile ruptured the street below their wheels. Kai then realized Archer was still using his empowered arrows of light despite the lack of street lights.

"Kill the lights, fast!", the enemy Master suddenly shouted.

Kai silently grumbled next to her, but couldn't stop the bulk of bikers to heed her demand to turn off their headlights and roll their motorcycles to safety without them. Mere seconds later utter darkness had swallowed the street were the two titans faced each other. Lancer's shield was a smouldering wreck she discarded and that quickly dissolved in blue mist. Lancer herself looked a bit beaten up, but not in the least like Archer who had already sealed his wound, but was still breathing heavily. Even when the Lionheart had him cornered inside the school building, Kai had not seen him as close to loosing his composure as now. The Greek Woman must be a terrifying foe.

"What is it, mighty king? Already exhausted?", she teased viciously. "What a shame. How could you honor that alliance you are proposing if you don't survive that bit of me roughing you up? Ah well, it seems I will need to see how you fair against this..."

She stretched out the left hand that was now free of the shield while presenting her spear with the other one. Archer watched her attentively, keeping his bow close but Kai assumed he was going to switch weapons again without being able to charge his arrows with light. But right now he concentrated on Lancer. He had some basic idea what people she belonged to, but knew not how to identify her identity. Now that her spear began to glow with a bright golden light he assumed she was going to use her Noble Phantasm. He had no idea whether that was helpful to his job or not, but he told himself he would do his best.

Then Lancer put her left hand on the shining weapon... and ripped at it. He heard a crack and it looked in the darkness for a moment as if she had broke the spear clean in half from tip to rear. But after Kai took a closer look he saw that the weapon was still completely intact. And the thing she held now in her left hand was also complete. It was an identical copy of her spear. No, it was impossible to tell what the copy was and what not. It seemed as if both spears belonged together from the moment of their creation. Even after just one day Kai had to admit that he was starting to get used to these magical tricks. Compared with Archer plucking arrows from sunlight and charging them with it Lancer's trick was rather tame. Especially when she threw her original weapon to the ground and readied the new one. All this seemed only to have served the summoning... of pretty much the same weapon she already had.

Then she darted forward again. Archer waited for her. When she reached him to ram her new spear into him she was greeted by a blue flash. The bowman had indeed summoned his leather shield again to deflect her strike and then quickly went closer into melee. Lancer bolted backwards, surprised at his sudden change of tactics, but not until Archer was able to cause a bleeding gash at her left shoulder. He must have struck deep with his...

 _An axe?_

" _Don't be surprised, Nab Kai. It is the best weapon the king was trained at to crack armored opponents._ "

He saw his point. The blade was able to pierce the thick bronze armor Lancer used to cover her shoulders. But he had to automatically scowl at the idea that in this twisted world of the Grail War Archer judged bronze armor as stronger than steel chain mail... likely because it was simply older. It was just insane.

"I promise you, this is the only small victory I shall allow you", Lancer mused while her wound healed itself.

She then attacked again, her spears cutting through the air towards the defending pharaoh. Archer parried and tried to get close again, but she was too fast and shut him off of every opportunity. Archer might have been proficient with his bow and his Imperial Privilege allowed him wield his weapons in close combat with some skill, but he was still no match for the Amazon on her home turf. Kai dreaded the worst. Especially after Lancer managed to pierce the shield of Archer head-on and put her whole weight to drive it towards the man behind it.

" **Discordia**!", she yelled when she scratched his skin under the wings that decorated his armor. " **Twin spears of Eris**!"

A golden shockwave illuminated the street. When Kai opened his eyes again, Archer had managed to take the initiative again, guiding the spear that was still stuck in his shield away from his body while advancing for another strike at the now unprotected Lancer. He instead received a kick that send him tumbling to the ground and gave the foe enough time to retrieve her weapon.

"A curse?", Archer grunted while getting some distance between himself and the enemy.

"How perceptive of you", Lancer grinned. "Of course it is."

 _What does it do?_

" _The king doesn't know. There are no direct consequences he can feel._ "

 _Eris... she's invoking a Greek god!_

" _The king is familiar with their pantheon. The king will see what is going to happen..._ "

He raised again and readied war-axe and shield. Lancer did the same. Then everything went to hell. Cars entered the forgotten street on both sides. Blue sirens started to howl and several of the bikers cursed and fled on their roaring bikes. Lancer disappeared immediately. Archer took on his Spirit Form shortly thereafter. When Kai started to look around in his confusion, he saw that Lancer's Master next to him was nowhere to see. He saw figures in black running towards the bikers and towards him. And he heard the people in the cars calling them out through megaphones. Only then he realized their markings of green and silver in the darkness of night.

 _Oh fuck... It's the police!_

Under any normal circumstances he would have laughed out loud. They have caused quite a lot of noisy destruction inside the city, of course someone was going to alarm them.

" _Shall the king help you escape?_ ", Archer asked unfaced.

"Maybe-"

"Hey! What are you doing with them, boy?", a voice behind him called out.

Kai whirled around. An officer was approaching him, his green uniform was showing itself through the opened black jacket. His eyes inadvertently went down towards the heavy holster at his hip where he kept his gun.

 _Too... fucking... late..._

He knew it would only mean trouble for all around if he let Archer just whisk him away while he was talking to the officer. So he instead opted for the most insane thing to do: He told him the truth. Well... most of it anyway. That he was just taking a walk through the late evening when he basically just stumbled into them. The officer then asked him whether the bikers had demolished the street and when Kai was unable to think up an answer on the fly... the officer kindly offered him to take a seat in one of the large vans they had brought with them so that he was able to tell them what had happened in the station. And so he was squeezed into the back seats of a police van with two of the bikers they had pulled from their bikes in front of him, all the while looking out for Archer so that he could at least give him an assuring look. But the pharaoh was nowhere to see.

It was crazy. And it was a completely new experience to him. There was an officer talking to the witnesses and taking notes at the school after it was wrecked, but this here was completely different. It was not a single officer on her patrol, it was a building full of officers who were pursuing criminal offences. And for all he knew he was now under suspicion to have committed one.

 _Damn bloody Grail War..._ , he cursed while he was brought into a room to get interrogated.

It was much more sparse than the ones he had seen in TV and it lacked the infamous mirror that was actually a window. And the officer sitting down in front of him was a lean fellow in his late forties with greying black hair wearing a checked shirt that made him look more like a bureaucrat than a policeman. His notebook and pencil he had placed on the table also didn't help. Though when he had entered the tiny room he brought a smell of coffee, tobacco and garlic with him that made Kai feel like to gag.

"Kai Reymeyer, is it? Well met, boy", he announced with a grin. "How is the Pokémon-hunt?"

"What?", was all Kai was able to stutter.

"Or is it Yu-Gi-Oh!-cards you young people nowadays battle with?"

"I sincerely hope this is not a serious attempt to be all buddy with me", he replied, pouring all his irritation into his words.

The officer grimaced slightly, but never put down his smile.

"Okay, you've got me there. I admit I don't have much to do with kids. So you want to do the adult version of this? I'm fine with that. I'm Kriminaloberkommissar Günther Reinbrecht. Commissar Reinbrecht is fine with me. Now let's talk about what you were doing out there at _Löwenplatz_. And please give me something better than you gave the Schupo officer who brought you in."

"Am I being interrogated?", Kai asked with a frown.

"Not really, I haven't read your rights. This is just us two trying to figure out what to do with you."

"There is not much to do. It's like I said. I was just on a walk and ran into these bikers who just came from god-knows-where."

He "Mmh"ed him while he was busy writing in his notebook.

"And what were you going to in such a godforsaken part of town?"

Kai dreaded that question, but he had an idea how to wrestle himself free by making him look dangerously irresponsible.

"I... was going into that abandoned factory building there."

"Why?", the policeman said exasperated.

"I lost a bet..."

"To whom?", he asked immediately.

 _Damn him, he's good. Of course he's good, he gets paid for this._

"Just some classmate of mine. It's not really that important. I thought you are interested in those bikers, aren't you?"

The man sighed, putting his pencil to the side and folding his fingers above the notebook.

"To be completely honest, I've been wondering about that."

He never lost his smile when he reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and took a couple of printed photos out there he put between them. It were photos of horribly devastated rooms.

"Looking familiar?", he asked while Kai was looking at them.

Then it dawned to him.

"Is that my school?"

"Of course it is. And you were there. Don't try to deny it, the officer noted your name among the witnesses. And not one of my cycling friends was among them. You are the connection, not them."

"What has this to do with what had happened this evening?", Kai frowned, dreading how close this officer had gotten.

"Don't take me for a fool. Seven demolished street lights, a torn down brick wall and a street looking like it was ravaged by a sounder of wild boars. Exactly the same happened to your school."

"How should I be able to do something like this?", he was aghast.

"This is what you need to tell me."

"But I didn't", Kai said truthfully.

 _Ramesses II, Richard Lionheart and some crazy Amazon did!_

"So you blame the bikers?"

Kai paused for a moment. Implicating them was the easy solution, but he knew all too well that it was likely to cause some inconsistencies with the stories the caught bikers would come up with.

"No", he replied instead.

"Interesting. So please tell me, what happened instead?"

"Well, the street was already ravaged like this when I arrived. Judge me like you want, but I thought it always looks like this in this part of town. So I continued and climbed into the desolated building there. When I left it, the bikers already pretty much blocked the entrance and then the police came. This is really all I know."

"So you met the gang at _Löwenplatz_?"

"Yes, of course!"

Commissar Reinbrecht didn't answer, he just reached into his pocket and drew several more photos. This time they were of ravaged buildings and furrowed streets eerily similar to how Archer's and Lancer's battlefield at _Löwenplatz_ looked like after they were done with it.

"Isn't that _Löwenplatz_?"

"No, it's Vogtstraße. Where we received our first calls because of nightly disturbances. The condition of the street convinced my colleagues to call for reinforcements before following our biking friends."

"I'm sorry, I never was there."

"So you say...", the Commissar crossed his arms, thinking.

"And you doubt it were the bikers?", Kai asked then back.

"Well, this particular group never seemed like the kind to pointlessly vandalize the city", the officer admitted.

"Just look at the streets, Mr. Commissar, how could anyone do this without tools?", Kai urged him, trying to make him focus on some unknown third group that'll lead him nowhere except the world of magic.

The man grunted.

"I don't know what I have to expect. We kept an eye on them because their mother organization has some history with drug dealing like you can read everywhere in the news. But property damage of this scale... You better stay away from Löwenplatz if you know what is good for you. Strange things are happening in this town."

It seemed too good an opportunity to Kai to let it pass.

"What else?", he asked eagerly.

Maybe to eagerly. The police officer reacted with a frown.

"I recommend reading a newspaper once or twice instead of playing videogames, kid. You're going to learn something from it."

Kai nodded sheepishly.

"Well then, I'm going to have a long night, so why don't you just join your parents in the waiting room and go home?"

Kai's heart plummeted right into his bowels.

"You've called my parents?"

"Well of course. It's not like I let you go to bring disaster upon another part of town?", Reinbrecht chuckled. "Out with you."

He heeded the order, but a shiver went through his body.

 _You hear me, Archer? Does that help-you-escape option still stand?_


	12. Chapter 11 - Kai

Hello there guys. I'm going to finish and wrap up my Bachelor thesis before I write the next chapter, so it'll likely come to further delays at the Einzbern Grail War. But be assured that it will continue straight where I've left off after just a small break. Until then, let's look at the repercussions of Kai's latest exploit and what enemy they are going to face next.

* * *

Chapter 11 - Kai

 **Men-Nefer - 1284BC**

"So... Do I get this straight, you are seriously worried because your father didn't want you to get yourself killed", the black-haired beauty said with a mocking grin. "You are weird, you know."

Nefertari was sitting on a bench amidst the wild and pretty flowers of the Nile with her young husband at her side. It was a scene of the royal gardens at the capital. A tiny little stream of water flew at their feet, one of many parts of the careful irrigation system. Thick leaves of the palm trees meanwhile spent shadow to guard the flowers from the fiery chariot of Ra during his daily tour. Ramesses hung his head, sighing. In the shadow of the leaves his hair looked bright red. Under the sun however it was more of a golden yellow.

"It's not that I am bloodthirsty or anything. I'm just... He made it his victory and his victory alone. How could I ever leave his shadow if he doesn't allow me to? Some day I will be pharaoh myself. How shall I succeed if nobody knows my name?"

"You'll get a new one. Isn't this what your Horusname is all about?", she countered immediately. "And then you have more than enough time to make them remember this one."

The boy laughed at her joke.

"If it were just so easy...", he smiled at her. "But I want them to remember all of my names. And you. And our future children. By Amun, even Isetnofret! Nothing would pain me more than dooming our generation."

The picture blurred and soon thereafter the young Ramesses had found himself in the solar of his father. It was time for his lessons in court politics. The stern king sat at a table filled with messages and scrolls he must have had attended to before his son had arrived. He was now watching him silently while Ramesses was reciting all religious cults in the realm, their respective capitals and the individual quirks of the influence they have upon their followers... and the king.

"You did appropriately, no mistakes", the pharaoh announced with his rasping voice. "You have the king's leave to go upon your business."

Ramesses blinked.

"Father? It is most unusual to end my lessons early. I don't think I have mastered the whole kingdom."

He sighed.

"The king has no time for further child's play. There is business to attend."

"Shall I accompany you? Some day your problems will be mine, I want to help you."

"You can't."

The young prince crossed his arms. He was visibly unhappy, but made not a single motion towards the door. The king returned his attention towards a stack of papyri on the table between them. He tried to ignore his son, but failed. Menmaatre looked up again, his stare was of pure ice.

"What is it, son of Ra? Why do you keep pestering the king?"

"I am not pestering you... I'm just watching. Learning. It is the business I want to attend."

The king grimaced and then put one small scrap of paper, Ramesses recognized it as an official letter to the state, and pushed it towards his son. The prince bowed happily and took it in his hand. His face fell immediately.

"What is this nonsense? Hittite forces raise new walls around Kadesh? Isn't it our city now?"

"No. Not for long anyway. They retook the city not a long time after the king's forces withdrew."

"Why... why didn't you tell me? Please, father. Give me the troops and I will throw them out again. Nobody shall defy your will with such impudence!"

"It is too late, young son of Ra. Look at the date of this letter. The fortifications must have been finished a moon's turn ago. There is nothing you could do without much more bloodshed. It won't be as easy as the first time... and the victory of the king already did its purpose."

 _The young son of Ra didn't understand... and was unable to understand at the time. Yes, he heard the cheers of the king's soldiers, but he expected those cheers to turn into mocks as soon as word spread that the king could not hold his conquests._

"We need to make up for that. If not Kadesh, then we need to strike somewhere else. To make the Hittites pay for it."

The king frowned in disbelieve.

"The king thought you wiser then to make such a foolish notion."

"What?", Ramesses replied flatly.

"You know the Hittites, you have read their history, son of Ra. Ur. Uruk. Babylon. All great cities. All independant cities. Cities with a history of warfare and sieges and cities which have grown through this history. They all have high walls and standing armies. Challenging them is folly. You only through away the lives of the King's subjects. Don't underestimate them, son of Ra. Their two streams birthed an Empire as large as the one our river Hapi has brought to life. They won't bend. They don't need to."

The prince was taken aback. He just stood there, utterly startled and at a for words. Then suddenly the expression of the king softened. He reached for his stack of scrolls and took another one, reading it with grim certainty.

"You want to prove your might. Fine. But do it with an enemy that needs to put in place. An enemy that threatens the people of Kemet. The king's people. They need his attention... and yours", he gave him the scroll without any further word.

It was another message. This time from the coasts in the south.

"Pirates?", Ramesses said aghast. "Ordinary pirates are your true enemy?"

Menmaatre suppressed an amused smile.

"Ordinary? Sure...", he said chidingly. "Don't underestimate them. You are a son of Ra. Don't let them catch you off-guard. Fight them like they were the Hittites and you will not fail."

 _The young son of Ra didn't care at that moment that his enemy only sounded like stinking pirates. It was a chance to prove his worth. To show his mortal father that he was a true son of his._

"Don't worry, father. I will not bring shame upon your name."

 _The enemy the young son of Ra was about to face was one who was bothering our trade routes to the great sea. The Sherden. About their origins scarce was known at the time. Wherever they came from, now the sea and their swift ships were their only home. A whole nation afloat. If they started their career poor, now they weren't anymore. They wore bronze armor of the highest quality and their captains were known for their skill with the sword. Piracy was lucrative and while they avoided the Greek cities, they thought the people of Kemet to be easy pickings. They thought they were only comfortable in sailing on the river Hapi, never daring to confront them in the open sea, which was their dominion. The prince set out to prove them wrong. He ordered the construction of larger ships which were able to operate in the sea, but still used the old ones in a quick succession of surprise attacks on the Sherden while they were trying to attack the settlements along the coast. His aim was to make them change their tactics. If they were forced to gather their ships and focus only on the trading vessels, far away from the coast, thinking themselves safe from the forces of Kemet, the prince would be able to catch them all at once._

Ramesses stood at the bow of his flagship, watching the enemy ships with sharp eyes. The old Amenemhet was next to him, spear and shield in hand. The prince was armed with those weapons as well. The Egyptian ship however was an impressive build, despite its small width it had numerous oarsmen and a long platform filled with archers who stood attention.

 _The prince had found the Sherden fleet how it tried to surround a convoy of Mycenaean trading vessels with a large number of theirs. They seemed surprised to find Kemetite ships so far away from the Hapi delta. They tried to flee the opposite way, but soon thereafter they were surrounded themselves. The only opening the son of Ra left them was towards a shallow mouth of the life spending river. They caught the bait, desperately trying to outrun the royal fleet until they were trapped. The prince only had to tighten the net. It seemed to him as easy as bird catching in the royal gardens._

"Steady!", he ordered the archers and they drew their bows in unison.

The Sherden fleet now turned around. Seeing no way out, they decided to face them in open battle. Their ships were surprisingly low in the water, but they had large sails and numerous oarsmen which must have made them so quick. The prince was twitching nervously, looking forward to the final confrontation after weeks of preparations and tedious hunting.

"Fire!"

The world went dark for a short time when numerous bowstrings were let loose and a myriad of black arrows flew high into the sky, only to come down as a deadly rain onto the

Sherden ships. Their soldiers cowered under their shields and many of them were struck down or wounded.

"Fire at will!", Ramesses yelled again and his soldiers obeyed.

One of the enemy ships turned around and faced the royal flagship. They wanted a confrontation. Ramesses seemed as if he looked forward to it.

"Let them pass, the ships behind us can handle it", Amenemhet said, glancing at his prince with a worried look.

"No... a son of Menmaatre doesn't shy away from a battle", he smirked and turned to his men. "Do you see those desperate men there? They raided the farms and towns of our people and now they think, they can get away with it by attacking you, the brave defenders of Kemet! But piracy is not war. Innocent merchants and townspeople are no soldiers. We are! Let's show them what we call war! Oarsmen! Let her fly over the waves like mighty Sobek himself! Men, grab you spears and prepare for boarding! Ra is with us today! Victory is with us today!"

The oars hit the water hard, shoving them forward and speeding their pace further up with each stroke. Ramesses got what he wanted. They flew with high speed. The enemy ship came closer fast and with it they were able to make out the pirates in their bronze cuirasses, with their swords and spears and shields. They were looking at the Kemetites anxiously, some taunting, some afraid.

"Starboard, prepare to pull them back in! Now!"

They rescued their oars in one swift motion, shortly before the ships crashed there together with the wood horribly shrieking and crunching. Seconds thereafter, the Kemetite sailors threw their boarding hooks towards the Sherden ship, pulling at them and therefore locking the two ships in a tight embrace. Ramesses raised his leather shield and tightened his grip around his spear.

"Follow me!", he yelled and jumped onto the deck of the enemy ship, Amenemhet close at his side.

The rest of his soldiers followed swiftly and soon a terribly confusing clash of wood, leather, bronze and flesh began as the Kemetite forces jumped at the defenders, forcing them into close combat. Ramesses forces vastly outnumbered them since their salvos of arrows had already incapacitated many of their men. But nevertheless was the prince in front of the charge and was the first who found an enemy to battle. A spearman like him, clad in a muscled cuirass, wearing a horned helmet and holding a small, round shield made of bronze. He awaited the prince with his spear and stabbed at him during his charge. Remembering his training, Ramesses bend his shielded arm so that the tip of his spear scraped ineffectively at the leather. Simultaneously, Ramesses let his own spear glide forward and put all his strength in his thrust. His opponent tried to raise his shield, but wasn't fast enough. His own spear cut deeply into the man's throat, spraying dark red blood all over him. The man put down all resistance, letting himself fall down like a sack of wheat. The young Ramesses saw with horror that he was still alive, gargling and coughing up more blood. Knowing that such a wound made him far beyond saving all Ramesses could do was ease the pain he must have felt. Gulping, the young prince placed the tip of his spear over the man's heart and put his whole weight into the thrust. He panicked when he failed miserably. He wasn't able to penetrate the armor straight away, so his spear missed the heart, scraped along the engraved muscles and only broke the bronze somewhere at his rips, opening just another wound. Ramesses pulled the spear back and put the now slightly bend tip another time at his enemy's heart. This time, the weakened armor gave way and he locked the weapon deep inside the man's chest, causing him to stop all movement.

Retrieving his weapon, Ramesses looked around. He was so focused on his single enemy that he forgot to realize how most of the fighting had already stopped. Some more Sherden lay dead on the ground, but most of them had thrown their weapons to the ground, surrendering. The Kemetite had only very few casualties. But not every single battle had ceased. Ramesses saw somewhere at the back of the boat, how Amenemhet was locked in a tight exchange of blows with a warrior wearing an extraordinarily ornate armor. It was the only member of the crew who didn't surrender. And Ramesses had never seen anyone who was able to corner Amenemhet like he did with his sword, forcing him into the defence with swift stabs from numerous angles.

"Stop it!", Ramesses called out to both of them.

Amenemhet heard him and retreated a few steps back where several other spearmen stepped next to him, forming a pointy wall which stopped the Sherden from following. Ramesses' other men also grasped the situation and quickly surrounded the ferocious fighter.

"Lay down your weapon, madman! Your crew has already seen the futility in your situation", Ramesses said.

As he stepped closer, the Kemetite soldiers stepped to the side, letting their prince pass their wall. It was a moment of insanity, with these hard, grown men parting for a young boy. Even if this boy and his weapon were blood splattered.

"They have surrendered to a green boy, as it seems", the man said with thickly accented Medu Netscher.

"They have surrendered to the prince of Kemet, a son of Ra. Does this version help you keep your pride?"

"Not really. May your father be a king or a god, let me judge you by your own actions", he spat at the ground.

Ramesses tilted his head with a curious expression. He seemed to like these words.

"Then let me tell you I was the one who set up the trap you fell into. You are the captain, am I right?"

"Aye... so you are the little bugger who burned down our ships, trapping the men on the land to massacre them? I wouldn't have guessed you are bold enough to also attack us on the sea", he replied with a frown.

"You have fought well and enough to keep your face. And as you can see, if you raise your weapon again, you will die", Ramesses pointed towards the numerous spears surrounding the Sherden captain. "I offer you the chance to put down your weapon. I will spare your life, if you do so."

"Why should I? You will destroy my ships."

"You used them to harm innocents, they have to burn", Ramesses said miserably, thinking about the orders his father gave him while looking at all the craftsmanship which went into the ship's construction.

"Then you should burn us with them, since you condemn us to death by starvation by doing so", the captain grumbled.

"How so?", the boy reacted startled.

"We've left our homes behind long ago, boy. Possibly longer than you live. The sword is the only profession we learned, and the coast is the only harvest we reap", the man explained, sounding a bit melancholic by telling it.

Ramesses watched him, how his enemy stood there. A tall, muscular man encased in a thick bronze cuirass engraved with fighting figures. His ornate shield covered with iron knobs shone in the son and he looked terrifying with the two giant horns attached to his helmet. Those horns were longer than the ones from any other Sherden pirate he saw here.

"You say your only profession is the sword", Ramesses then said, a knowing smile creeping up onto his face. "Then I offer you the chance to use it. But not for destruction, since those times are done for you now. Instead I offer you the chance to protect the people of the two countries against their enemies."

"I won't kneel", the man growled.

"And I won't demand it. I give this offer to every member of your crew. I respect your ability and I want to see it to good use. You won't need to plunder anymore. As compensation for your service, I offer you land to settle down with your wives and children."

The captain stared at him, ignoring the numerous soldiers surrounding him. And Ramesses stared back, without flinching. It felt like several minutes, before the Sherden broke the silence with a chuckle.

"A very tempting offer, boy. I will hold you to your word, I promise it."

The atmosphere calmed down dramatically.

"Don't worry, I will see to it."

 _The man's name was Alcidias, as the young prince found out during their trip back home, upstream the river Hapi. The Sherden proved as prideful as expected, but they soon began to eye the surrounding black land and the common people tending their crops nervously. The son of Ra assumed they were never so far away from the ocean and had never seen these rich farmlands before. But the most impressive was yet to come. The prince talked every day with him, trying to gain more information about their culture and their beliefs. Partly out of curiosity, but partly also to earn the Sherden's trust. The son of Ra quickly saw that their highest god represented thunder and storm, fitting to a sea people. It needed a lot of persuasion and a few threats to make them paint the sun of Ra onto their equipment as a representation of their new allegiance. When they reached the city of Men-nefer and its mighty walls, which were built as a barrier against the flood and not armies, the Sherden all gaped at it in amazement._

Ramesses led his army consisting of the Kemetites and his newfound allies in a long column through the narrow streets between the clay buildings. They had left the wounded in the hands of the royal healers, so it were only the unharmed, but it didn't diminish their numbers in any way. Craftsman stopped from their work to look up and watch them pass while children were running along with them. Some of the soldiers wives were also present, hugging their husbands while passing them, exchanging promises and praising the gods for their safe return. But even if it pained to not let them go, they still had to muster in full force in front of the royal palace. The Sherden were especially nervous and Ramesses talked to Alcidias several times about what they saw. Especially when they passed one of the oldest and most ostentatious temples of the city with its giant painted walls and the several colossal statues in front of the entrance.

"By the Gods, what a fortress!", Alcidias exclaimed. "They are even more impressive than your outer walls."

The young prince was taken aback, staring at the building in wonder. Impressive they were, but only for the decorative effect. It were not military walls... very much like the dams of Men-Nefer itself which was why this comparison sounded so oddly funny to Ramesses.

"This is the house of Ptah, not a fortress", Ramesses explained chuckling.

"This Ptah must be an insanely rich man", Alcidias scratched his neck under his helmet. "To build such an impressive fortification to defend all his treasures..."

"Ptah is a god", the prince forced himself not to look like he was mocking the foreigner.

The warrior paused for a moment, then dipped his head.

"Aye he is. There is no mistake in that", and with these words he marched on.

 _They had never seen a city before and while Alcidias himself tried to compose himself, most of his men did not. They regarded our temples as marvels made by the gods themselves. And the son of Ra now shared their amazement. For the first time in his life, the young prince didn't saw them as natural parts of the city, but as impressive evidence of the might of civilization. He realized how much impact they had upon the outside viewers, reflecting the power of their makers and making the names of their architects truly immortal._

They finally arrived at the central square in front of the palace. Menmaatre, his wife Tuya and quite a big part of his royal court left the building to greet the young prince. Nefertari and Isetnofret were also among the spectators. Ramesses smiled at them, but since his father was already approaching, it was too late to wave at them. The pharaoh watched his troops and his eyes stopped when he saw the force of more than a hundred Sherden warriors in full armor. He then looked back at his son, who was kneeling in front of him.

"Are those the men you command?", he asked with a frown.

"They are, father", Ramesses replied, not even bothering to hide his amusement about his reaction.

"In all those years the king fought the enemies of the two countries, he never saw a general return with more men than he set out with."

Ramesses looked up, waiting for any sign of approval. And then he did. The king smiled, before addressing the crowd around him:

"An impressive deed, truly worthy of the king's son. The ferocious pirates of the Sherden are not only defeated, but have pledged loyalty to Ramesses, the son of Menmaatre!"

They applauded their prince and future king. But much the young prince's confusion they seemed to congratulate both him and the king. Shouts of "Ramesses!" and "Menmaatre!", of "Our prince!" and "Our King!" intermingled to a strange composition. Ramesses struggled to keep his dismay off his face.

 _While the son of Ra listened to the shouts of glory, he pledged to prove his father wrong. He wouldn't be known as the son of Menmaatre. Menmaatre would be known as the father of Ramesses._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Kai Reymeyer opened his eyes. And he immediately regretted this decision. Sleeping was good. Dreaming was good. Being awake was not. For once he wanted to stay in Ancient Egypt. Sure, there was bloodshed as well. But at least he wasn't the one fighting in a magical death match without an ounce of magic on his side. And he would be watching scenes he knew the protagonist survived because he grew up to become one of the greatest pharaohs 'Kemet' ever saw. Sadly, that pharaoh wasn't anywhere to see to save him from the wrath of his parents. And now when he lay there the memories of the last night came back to him. It seemed all so surreal on the trip back home, even more surreal than the fight against Lancer ever did. But it happened and he was barely able to defend himself. Words of reproach rang in his head. His mother was seething in anger, but his father was the worst. He was joking, he was teasing, but his eyes betrayed disappointment more than anything else.

"A nice friend you must have to meet him there", were his first words.

"So it's true, you really did join a gang!", his mother screeched then, luckily after they already left the police station.

Kai desperately tried to appease them. He told them about caught up in things beyond his control. He was talking about running into the gang, but he wasn't quite sure if he really only meant that. For once he wished for Archer to appear and just tell them outright what was going on, but he had no idea whether they would believe him... and how they would react to his ongoing participation in the Grail War.

 _They can't really take Archer from me, can they?_

He assumed not... but he was afraid that wouldn't hinder them from... well, trying to help. But he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk them. It was more than enough strain for him to be dragged into this madness, he could never stand allowing his parents to endanger their lives for him and Archer. But while this made him certain that telling the truth stood out of question, it didn't help at all with a reasonable excuse why the police had to hand over their child to them.

 _Damn me and my boring boringness. If I had a history of daring adventures, it would at least not look that much out of the picture._

At first he tried to tell the same story he told to the police officer. The version with the lost wager. It didn't hold for a second. His mother quickly deduced it as complete and utter garbage while they were entering the car. And to put more salt into his wounds, she pointed out he was "too boring to do something like this", accompanied by his father turning around from the driver's seat to face him who simply said "Don't lie. Not to us." in the most disappointed tone he had ever heard him use. Kai kept silent then. These words hurt far more than getting tackled by those ghastly beasts who had jumped him in the garden. So he saw no other option than to look down in his shame while his mind was racing trying to figure out how to get out of this predicament. There was no idea at all. He was brought back home in utter silence and in utter silence he just went to bed without dinner. It was basically the best option to avoid further conflict and his parents must have felt his numbness so that they didn't stop him.

 _Didn't stop me from waking up though..._

He sat up and stared towards the closed door. They were likely already down there. While Kai had been trying to sleep his parents surely had not. He had heard voices from downstairs for quite some time. Unhappy voices. They were intensely discussing something that had likely to do with him and whatever punishment they saw fit.

"Greetings, Nab Kai."

A golden mist swirled through his room and soon formed the shape of the pharaoh who was responsible for his misery. Kai sighed.

"Where were you? I really could have needed some backup, even if only in a spiritual sense", Kai said grimly.

Archer himself grimaced and seated himself at the foot end of the bed, his eyes were cast down.

"The king thought it unwise to interfere, so he waited for things to settle."

"Well here you go, nothing has been settled", Kai rubbed his temples. "You don't happen to have thought up some neat lie I can tell them, do you? There must be some ruse among your endless wisdom to help me out."

The pharaoh looked at him with a hint of pity in his eyes.

"As a young son of Ra the prince had more trouble making his father speak to him at all, even if he did feel guilty for something... but even so... getting in trouble with the law is quite difficult if you yourself attempt to be the law incarnate. For once there is no advise the king can give you from his experiences. But your parents seem to await a reaction from you. So it might be the best to just... tell them the truth. It is the most direct way."

Kai shook his head immediately.

"I can't do this. Not the truth."

"You are afraid that they don't believe you?"

"No. I am more afraid they might do."

Archer nodded in understanding. Kai watched this and realized that despite all that happened the day before the pharaoh didn't look any worse. He knew the Servant's wounds were only temporary in nature, but he had seen him take quite a beating and this twice. Kai forced himself to think about these problems, even if only to avoid thinking about his own one for a moment.

"I do think we need to talk about another kind of strategy. Yours specifically."

That took him by surprise now. Archer frowned, but didn't reply.

"You could have died yesterday evening", he tried to make himself sound clear enough with that one.

"Dieing is always a possible outcome in battle. Do not wor-"

"Too late, I do", Kai interrupted angrily. "And don't dismiss that with your smug optimism, I have seen you struggle. You had your moments against Saber, but this Lancer had no problems wiping the floor with you."

"She was not 'wiping the floor' with the king", Archer groaned. "The king was just... inconvenienced fighting in the darkness. His bow draws its power from the king's patron god Ra to enhance his attacks. With only scarce sources of light it becomes more expensive to keep up with Hems focusing on closed-range attacks."

Kai had already assumed as much. But it didn't change a thing.

"Why didn't you tell me? It would have been nice to know before we, you know, set out in the dark on purpose!"

"It seemed reasonable to set out regardless to avoid attention. The king weighed his disadvantage against the chance to end the fight at this night and decided it was worthwhile."

Kai shook his head.

"You are avoiding the subject and yet... yes, you did that decision, alone. And you didn't want to ask me of my thoughts on the matter because you don't trust me."

 _And I can't blame him. I myself had whined yesterday about not being able to help him at all._

"You were not trained in the arts of war", Archer said and confirmed his suspicion with these words.

"This might be, but I start to doubt your judgement on the matter as well. Don't get me wrong, I see that you can fight. And you make a point that you can still hold your own under clear disadvantages... and yet I am just surprised how eager you throw yourself into these situations."

"Boldness is an important aspect of war", Archer replied darkly. "If you have the initiative you can actively rob your enemy of options."

 _Said the guy who nearly got himself killed at Kadesh..._

"So it was boldness that made you follow Saber into the close space of my school where you could not evade his strikes anymore? And it was boldness that kept you heading out into the darkness despite knowing how that would limit you?"

The pharaoh didn't reply anything, he didn't even look at Kai. He just stared to the ground with his red eyes, not a single emotion showing up on his stern features.

"And is it boldness that keeps you from using your spare Noble Phantasms?"

This was the moment he looked up, glancing at his Master in confusion.

"It is not, be assured of that", he said in an irritated tone.

"Is it? Huh... I'm just a bit worried. If you get caught up in the blast of Saber's Excalibur you are as good as dead. And God only knows what Lancer's twin spears did with you. They both used their Noble Phantasms against you even if they weren't all that hard pressed but you still tried to hold back even when it looked like loosing."

"Nab Kai... The king tries to get through the Grail War avoiding using them, simply because they would drain his reserves fatally. You have not the ability to restore his mana and even Hotep en Netscher has its limits in generating it."

Kai nodded then.

"I see your point. They are terribly expensive... but having preserved your mana doesn't take you very far if you are dead."

"Depleting the king's mana to take one of six enemies down won't get him and you very far either...", Archer grunted grimly.

Kai stood up and put his feet into his slippers while he thought about his reply.

"Yes. Sure. But if you see the chance to take one down and are in as much danger as you were with Lancer... I implore you to just go for it. For your son's sake as much as for yours."

He turned around and went for the door.

"Nab Kai", Archer called out.

Kai stopped.

"The king has the chance to end every fight at every time with his victory. It would likely just be his last one if he does so without conventional means."

He expected such an answer, even though the certainty with which Archer pointed out his superiority was still a bit surprising to him. The pharaoh had the tendency to boast, but he seemed absolutely genuine at this moment. It was worry, not gloating in his eyes. Kai nodded in understanding and went for the bathroom.

Roughly half an hour later he was fully clothed and climbed down the stares to join his parents at the breakfast table.

"Good morning", he said miserably while seating himself.

Both of them mumbled their greeting and while it was a tense atmosphere, nobody pushed for a talk. The silence was nearly worse than any confrontation. They avoided eye contact. They only talked to each other. Kai realized he was being ignored. They went out of their way to deny his entire existence, having omitted bringing out a plate for him or any of the things he preferred to eat at breakfast. Fighting down the urge to roll with his eyes, he went into the kitchen and out of his way to correct that himself.

 _Maybe this is better than open reproaches._

He wanted to at least try to break the silence with some background noise, so he lunged for the remote and switched on the TV. The regional news channel was the first one greeting him and he was grateful enough for that. Even though it was the picture of a

"Yesterday evening at 7 p.m. another fatal traffic accident happened at the exit of Einzberner Ring. It was the second that day and the fifth accident in four days that had struck the city", the newscaster announced gravely. "Like in the previous cases the driver lost control of his vehicle after leaving the Autobahn and hit the crash-barrier unchecked. Rescue workers were only able to diagnose the death of the driver, the seventeen years old son and co-driver suffered minor injuries and a shock and was brought to the hospital. Investigations about the damage and the cause for the driver losing control over the car are still in development. A connection with the previous accidents seems unlikely due to the different locations."

The clip ended... and the next one showed the picture of the front of his school with the damaged interior piled up in front of it. The lines below read "School building partly collapsed for unknown reasons. No one harmed."

Kai gulped and shut the TV down before the newsreader was even able to take a breath. Thankfully his parents sat with their backs towards it, so they hadn't noticed. Silence swallowed the tense atmosphere again. So it went the whole time until Kai said his sorry goodbyes and took his bag to leave his school. He hadn't even bothered to pack his bag with the books for the next day. He was just that sure school would not happen for some time, but pretending to not know was his best way to get out of the house. Their reaction was just maddening.

"They want you to make the first step", Archer spoke up the moment Kai had closed the door behind him.

"I know... doesn't make it easier though", he grumbled.

This way they travelled to the school on the most direct way. Kai just wanted to see what they were going to do with the pupils. And he did. When the two of them arrived a huge crowd had gathered in front of the cordon around the school. Their principal was behind it and addressed the children with his booming voice. The rest of teachers were also gathered there, everyone was nervous and the principal himself looked with his black rims around his heavy eyes as if he hadn't slept a second this night.

 _I wouldn't like to be in his skin right now._

What Kai gathered of his speech he tried to cheer everyone up regardless. Even though it were more the teachers that needed the cheering, the crowd was still reeling somewhere between confusion and applauding. Of course the people he recognized who were inside the building when the Servants decided to redecorate it were not able to make jokes about it. Kai himself felt horribly sorry. The principal then went on about arrangements being made with the junior high school at the other end of Einzbern to share some rooms. It would get crowded, but they'll try to pull some strings and school will likely continue next week.

 _So I have time until then to finish this Grail War business..._

Thinking about the Grail made him think about his supposed ally and partner in crime. So he peered into the crowd and tried to see if she bothered to show up as well. When he didn't find her immediately he excused himself from his friends and asked Archer softly about them.

"There you go", he nodded towards a dense crop of people to his right.

Kai followed the pharaoh's direction and finally found Sabrina amidst several of her classmates. He nodded towards her with a tired smile. Much to his confusion, her reaction was a cold frown. But he decided not to let that put him down. They were in the same boat after all and right now he needed his only ally.

"Hi there", he spoke to her. "How is it going?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"You have some nerves to speak up to me like this", Sabrina snapped back.

"What?"

The girls who accompanied her watched the scene with sudden and intense interest. For some reason he felt incredibly foolish to attempt such an open addressing.

"Just...", she herself looked around and felt embarrassed with them around. "Just go away. I cannot stand you after what you did yesterday."

Kai retreated, completely at a loss for words. The girls started giggling and gossiping the very moment he turned his back towards them, but he also heard Sabrina making excuses about him.

"The heck just happened...", he whispered.

"Saber said that Nab Sabrina is a bit confused right now. He told the king that he and Nab Kai should just give her a bit time to think."

"Whatever that means...", Kai grumbled.

 _Might be she reconsidered our alliance and only sees it as a ceasefire. I cannot blame her. She still seemed not very happy about Archer's Noble Phantasm last time I saw her._

"I guess we are on our own for now."

"Hey Kai, you knew that girl?", one of his classmates spoke up at this moment.

There was a group of them standing nearby. Kai forced himself to smile.

"Hello guys. I just... well, I thought I know her, I guess..."

He tried to shrug it off and change the subject.

"Awful, isn't it?", he waved towards the school. "I don't want to think how it would look like if it happened during classes."

"Who cares, nobody was hurt? And I don't need to do that presentation in chemistry for now", the guy who had addressed him grinned broadly and everyone laughed.

"Too bad Daniel can't enjoy these unexpected free days", a girl then said gravely.

Everyone fell silent.

"Why not?", Kai asked carefully, feeling somehow locked out of the loop.

"Haven't you really not heard?", the boy asked.

Kai shook his head.

"He had a car accident yesterday evening", the girl said. "Lost his father, the poor bastard."

The pictures of the wrecked car in the news flashed up in front of his eyes. He felt like someone had punched him. Hard.

"That was him?", he suddenly felt incredibly foolish.

"Yes... it's pretty scary all things considered."

"How so?"

"Where do you live, Kai? Haven't you followed the news?", his classmate's face fell then, he lowered his voice as if he told them some big secret. "All these accidents around Einzbern. They say they follow all the same pattern."

"Oh come on, you won't believe that one, don't you?", the girl said.

"Why not? It is weird enough to be true. And I tell you, the curse continues!"

For some reason Kai was inclined to believe him. Maybe said reason was that invisible pharaoh from 3000 years ago that was hovering behind him. Stuff like that made people more open-minded.

"How exactly does this connection look like?"

"Well... it is said that nobody who died in these car crashes died during the impact...", the boy explained in a conspirational voice. "They died shortly before. Heart attacks some say. Brain aneurisms or whatnot. Maybe they were scared to death by something."

"Even Daniel's father?"

"Don't know. They haven't finished their investigations yet. But this way the first three victims died. Three in a row. Sounds suspicious enough for me."

"Victims?", the girl interjected. "You sound like somebody murdered them. It were accidents. Sad accidents. Or how do you think somebody could kill them like this?"

"Don't know... Maybe they put some gas into the cars. I have heard of a case where someone put some liquid into the air-conditioning to knock a driver out."

"If that is the case, how come Daniel is still alive?"

Kai left them at their arguing and quickly retreated into a less dense part of the crowd.

"Maybe I'm just making a fool of myself. Sounds like sad coincidences to me", he whispered.

Archer kept his silence.

"These are coincidences, are they?", he asked more direct just in case Archer hadn't realized he was being talked to.

Several seconds passed before Kai heard the response of the ghost.

"The king is not absolutely sure about this."

"You're kidding!", he replied nearly too loud to his liking, so he forced himself to dim his voice. "How... you mean this has to do with the Grail War?"

"It is just a theory... if you have no other plans, the king would like to investigate this trace. If his worries prove true... it could be a lead to a Hem that needs to be taken out with all haste."

 _Were the drivers all Masters? No, that's impossible. Five people died and there are still Sabrina, Lancer's Master and me... So that means, he must focus randomly on..._

He tried not to continue this train of thought. His parents were using the Einzberner Ring. Every single day.

"Let's don't waste time!", he announced and left the crowd immediately.

He thought he'd know which hospital the victim was brought to. There was only one at Einzbern. A large complex neatly fitted into a forest at the edge of town. It had not the best reputation, but it was all the townspeople had if they didn't want to go to the city. So he took the bus there without waiting a second longer. When he arrived, there was quite some commotion. The three stories high car park next to the buildings looked quite full when he walked towards the clean white hospital complex. When he looked to his side and focused on the shade next to him he also realized that his invisible companion was strangely tense.

"Is there anything, Archer?"

"The king is not quite sure", he replied thoughtfully. "For a short moment it seemed he felt a presence, but now it is away."

"I think I know how you feel", Kai admitted miserably.

He never liked hospitals. They caused a sense of dread in him and he never knew why. To him they smelled like illness, like agony... like death. It was unfair towards the staff which tried to stave off all these things, but the smell of antiseptics caused these thoughts all the same.

"Let's get in there..."

And with these words Kai strode through the entry towards the yard and through the main entrance. Considering the huge amount of parked cars outside the inside was surprisingly less busy. Kai had no problems to just sneak up to the desk and ask for Daniel, telling the woman sitting there that he was a friend from school of his.

"Am I able to speak with him?", he dreaded to have come for naught.

"He is still a bit confused, but otherwise okay. Keep the visit short", she said before handing him a clipboard to sign and then told him Daniel's room number.

Kai expressed his gratitude, even bowed in much the same way Archer did all the time, and went on his way. He found his classmate in the second floor in a room he shared with three others. These others were sound asleep, but Daniel was awake watching the muted TV that was mounted in a corner. The way he looked at it, Kai doubted he was really paying attention. He looked like he was just staring at the pictures.

"Hello Daniel", Kai said sullenly, not knowing how to approach the bed.

At the end he just stood at one of the corners at the foot end. Daniel looked at him, narrowing his eyes in mild surprise. Except for some bruises on his face there were no visible traces of injuries, but his eyes told Kai a different story.

"Kai? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Can't I be a bit concerned about a classmate? I've heard what happened to you. Thought should pay you a visit."

If he was entirely honest, calling Daniel a friend was too much of a stretch. He knew him since primary school, but they never bothered to hang out together. Kai being the bookish nerd and Daniel being one of the muscled jocks in class, they never had much to talk with each other. But even then Kai could not help but feeling miserable for him after what had happened.

"Well... thanks I guess. Now you are seeing me, so what? Are you offering to bring me my homework? Or... wait. How late is it? Don't you have school right now?"

Kai chose to smile a bit to soften the mood.

"I guess you won't miss much... school is going to get closed for some time. Might be we get some crowded outside lessons on Monday, but even that is not sure as of yet."

"What happened? Did anyone burn down the school?"

 _Close enough..._

"Some structural damage, parts of the building just collapsed after classes."

Daniel sighed and sunk into the pillow he had propped up behind him.

"Wow, the world is literally falling apart."

Kai just helplessly stood there, not knowing what to say. He wanted to cheer his classmate up, but for some reason he was sure he would just hit the wrong keys.

 _What the hell did I thought to just drive straight here..._

And then he remembered. It was the picture of his parents mounting their respective cars and driving into the city. Driving past an unstoppable Servant. And he knew immediately that he just had to press the matter. Even while he knew that it could end ugly.

"There is... something I wanted to ask you", he began sheepishly.

"Huh?"

"It might seem strange, but please I have my reasons. I wanted to ask... whether it was an accident."

"What?", Daniel seemed incredulous and rightfully so.

"Your car crash and... what happened... I'm just... you were there, you must know whether it was an accident or not."

Daniel gulped and studied his face in confusion.

"Why should it not have been an accident?", he finally asked back.

"So it was?"

It was more a statement than a question, so his mind and body did not wait for an answer when a wave of relieve washed over him. It was the answer he wanted to hear. The answer that made his parents safe again. And when Daniel did not replied further, he took it gladly.

"Thanks and... I'm sorry if I have confused you even further. I can only imagine the pain you must feel and it is really not my part to ask such a question. So... I'll better let you alone for some time. You must need it... and since I don't know how long they are going to keep you here... I'll keep you up to date with the homework if you wish so."

Daniel just stared at him with wide eyes, seemingly at a loss for words. Kai nodded, he understood when he went to far.

"Bye", he just said, turned around and went for the door.

"Wait, please", he heard a low voice behind him after he had passed half the room.

He turned back towards Daniel's bed, carefully stepping a bit closer.

"What... what would you think if I tell you that it wasn't an accident?"

A sudden warm feeling crept up towards his heart and made him feel like his blood was starting to boil.

"I think I would say that this would terrify the hell out of me", Kai admitted.

"Me too", Daniel added and at once he seemed much paler than before.

Kai came closer.

"What have you seen?", he asked.

Daniel shook his head.

"Nothing... It all went too fast. It was just my mind playing a cruel trick on me."

"No", Kai stated as if it was the most simple truth in the world.

"You wouldn't believe me. You would call me gone crazy", Daniel grunted.

"Absolutely not", Kai assured. "I will believe you. No matter what you tell me. Trust me, I have seen enough crazy in the last few days to pretty much bury the doubts of a lifetime."

His classmate frowned at that, but didn't implore further. He just pushed himself upright, looking left and right as to assure himself that his roommates weren't listening in.

"Okay Kai... but if you make fun of this, you are dead."

"I wouldn't dare. But please, everything you've seen might be important."

"If you say so... And I... I think... I'm not entirely sure, but I think... that I have indeed seen something. It all went so fast, so cannot be sure..."

"What happened?"

"Well, my father... he... we... we were just driving home from training."

Kai knew that Daniel was in a football club. The junior league club of a very large and well known one in the city, so good was he.

"It all went as usual. My father was complaining about this slow-ass truck in front of us, squeezed himself right past it. And then we left the Autobahn for Einzbern... he was still complaining, but he was paying attention to the street. He is... was a good driver. He would never just hit the crash-barrier like this. He was too good for that. And he would never just... just... knock over like this."

Kai gulped. He hadn't realized until then, but after he came closer he had clawed his fingers into the foot of the bed.

"There was... he just suddenly appeared to the left of the car. Directly next to him. It's... no, it's impossible."

"Who was there?", Kai implored dreadfully.

"The grim reaper", Daniel said gravely. "Or close enough at least. He must have killed him."

"How did he look like?", Kai asked without any hesitation.

"So you do believe that?", he asked back incredulously.

"Of course I do, I told you so."

A tired smile crept up on his face.

"Fine... how did he look like? Well, I haven't seen that much. But... He was riding a horse. Yes, I know, he kept pace with a driving car that had just left the Autobahn. But I guess laws of physics don't keep that one down."

"No, they don't", Kai agreed softly.

"And then... he just stared at him", Daniel continued. "He stared at my father and my father died. His head just sunk down into his steering wheel and... that was it."

Kai nodded, somehow he felt like the room just grew a few degrees colder.

"And thereafter... he looked at the seats behind my father. And he looked at me. He looked straight into my eyes. And for a very small moment I thought he looked surprised... at least until he just vanished and disappeared. And this was already the moment the car hit the wall."

Kai drove with his fingers through his hair. He knew what this story meant. It was the version he didn't want to hear. The version he dreaded the most.

"Thank you for your honesty."

"I am crazy, am I?", Daniel asked with a tired smile.

"If you are, then I am too. No... I believe every word you just said."

Daniel looked to the ground.

"I'm glad to hear... but-"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Be assured of that."

"Thanks."

"Be also assured... that what happened to your father won't happen to anyone again."

Kai didn't knew where those words came from, but he was sure they were the truth. He was going to make them true. Daniel however frowned at these words.

"How can you say that?"

"I just... can... It's better when we leave it at that."

"Alright...", Daniel admitted.

"I hope you recover fast then", Kai said and with this he stepped back from the bed, releasing his tight grip around its foot end.

"Oh, there is still one thing...", Daniel then said. "You know... I always thought the grim reaper was some skeleton in a habit with a large scythe or something. But this guy... he looked too human... and... did you know that the grim reaper was Asian?"


	13. Chapter 12 - Kai

Hellow guys! First of all: I am truly, truly sorry for the insane time-gap between this chapter and the last one. I know I said it was because of my bachelor thesis, but that one was already finished and turned at the beginning of this month. But much to my chagrin I was then plagued by tendosynovitis (why does that sound so much more severe in English?) in my right index finger, forcing me to take it easier regarding the writing.

Well then, I am now quite healed (even if I am still careful not to over-exert it yet) and ached to continue where I left off last time. I hope you will enjoy the chapter. And yes, I will point the spotlight at the other Masters again after that one, so don't worry.

* * *

Chapter 12 - Kai

"Rider", Archer said bluntly after they left the room.

"One of the seven, I see...", Kai replied miserably. "I don't care what class he is in, I want to know how to stop him."

Saying that to the invisible ghost caused one of the passing nurses to glance at him in confusion. Kai kept his mouth shut then and Archer did the same. They had to plan their next step and they needed room for that. For that reason Kai left the hospital quickly and found his way to the little park on its backside. Only few of the patients were there that early in the morning, so Kai found a little pavilion where he and the pharaoh were able to sit down for some discussion.

"How?", it was a simple enough question to broach the subject, but it needed to be asked.

Archer sat somewhere opposite of him. Kai had to squint his eyes to get a grasp of his presence. Even in such a remote place it was better to keep him in spirit form so that nobody would accidentally walk into the pharaoh in all his royal armor.

"It is a trait inherent to all spirits, heroic or otherwise", Archer replied.

"You mean you could do this as well?"

"The king could... but no matter how grave the situation, the king wouldn't. This is his war, he can't fight it on the backs of innocents."

"What do you mean? What does he gain by murdering them?"

Kai thought he heard a soft sigh coming from the man who was once Ramesses the Great.

"His gain is actually quite similar to the connection Nab Kai shares with the king. Heroic Spirits need magical energy to remain in the material world, most of it they gain from the Grail, but to recover used up mana they need to take it from their Nab."

"I... I don't really understand. Do you mean... were those people his masters?"

"No... there was no lasting connection between Rider and his victims. This was something more sudden... and far more insidious. You must understand, Nab Kai, there are alternative ways to restore a Heroic Spirit's mana. Other sources. Receiving mana from a magus is one thing, but every human has another source he could draw upon."

He had no idea what Archer was hinting at, so he just motioned himself being at a loss there, waiting for the pharaoh to continue."

"Souls...", Archer said gravely. "Every spirit has the ability to feed on souls."

It took Kai several seconds to grasp the implications of this sentence. Something warm crept up to his heart and he wasn't quite sure whether it was fear or anger.

"You mean what Daniel described could have been Rider sucking out the souls of these innocent people?"

"Indeed."

"Doesn't he has Master?"

 _Or was that one his first victim?_

"The king does not know his intentions. It might just be that he had found himself in a similar situation like the king with a Master unable to provide the energy to draw upon his Noble Phantasms."

 _Similar..._

Kai didn't like the sound of that word.

"So you have pondered about doing such a deed as well?", Kai asked after some hesitation.

"No", Archer replied sharply. "There is no other option for the king besides Nab Kai's small provision and the gains from Hotep en Netscher."

That was a relieve... but it didn't change the fact that there was some murdering lunatic in town who was far less scrupulous than a pharaoh of Egypt.

"He killed five people... and god knows how many more we don't know of. Just how strong is he by now?"

"Mmh... Assuming he didn't fight a battle in the meantime, he must nearly filled the vast stores each Hem has at his disposal. Drawing upon the lifeforce of a person is quite an effective source, but drawing upon an entire soul leaving the victim to die is a different matter. The spirit would gain enough for a high-ranked Noble Phantasm and more."

Kai gulped. In his mind the blast of a golden sword flashed up. Saber had quite an impressive Noble Phantasm. A weapon that would have killed Archer with one strike if he weren't so damn fast. But he didn't want to think about it. There was no way back. People died. And he was part of that gruesome game causing the deaths.

"Okay, thanks for the clarification", he said sighing. "Now to the matter at hand: What can we do about it? We need to stop him, but we have no clue where he is."

"You said his victims were found near a place called Einzberner Ring? Is that not the place he will likely show up?"

 _As if it were so easy..._

"That's the Autobahn. A motorway without speed-limits. And it surrounds the entire city of Einzbern, there's no way we can-", the moment he wanted to complain about the situation it dawned at him. "Wait... if he's looking for a victim there... can't we just ambush him?"

The reply was prompt and disheartening. The invisible pharaoh shook his head.

"Impossible, Nab Kai. The king has no ability that allows him to hide his presence. An ambush would be revealed the moment Rider perceives his presence."

"Then we are out of options... We just heard that he was able to keep up with a car at full speed. I know you are fast, but I severely doubt you are faster than him."

Archer didn't reply to that. Whether it was because he agreed to his assessment or was already thinking about alternative solutions, Kai did not know. Instead he just fished his mobile phone out of his pocket.

"Anyway, whatever we are going to do, we need to inform Sabrina about our findings. Maybe she gets an idea."

The pharaoh looked up at that.

"A wise decision, Nab Kai. With Saber's Riding ability he could catch up to Rider easily."

Kai sighed.

"You do know that I have no idea what you're talking about. I have no idea what you gain by praising me for something that didn't even cross my mind except to annoy me, but there you go. I just proposed this because Sabrina is the only ally we have."

He waited for a reply from the pharaoh, but it seemed Archer didn't want to give him so much of satisfaction.

"Fine. What do you mean by 'Riding'-ability. And I warn you, I'm not going to procure a horse for the knight."

Even while saying this Kai couldn't help but wonder whether Sabrina had a horse or not. He made that connection not necessarily because she was living in that scary looking manor, it was because especially in rural regions girls surprisingly often rode as a hobby. It felt just like the thing she could be into.

"Not only horses, Nab Kai. This skill allows a Heroic Spirit to operate any kind of vehicle modern or ancient intuitively. By pouring mana into them a Spirit can even increase their speed and durability considerably", Archer meanwhile explained.

"And Saber has that skill?", he had to admit it sounded useful.

"Indeed. It is a class skill, so every Saber has it no matter how good his ability in life was. The king has it as well. In his case it is a personal skill achieved through the particularities of his legend. Something that would allow him to be summoned in the Rider class as well."

 _Meaning that his role and the one of Rider could have been easily reversed._

A shiver went through him. That would have meant that Rider weren't running around murdering people, but instead he had to keep up with someone capable of that. He gripped his phone tightly before calling his only ally.

 _I wonder whether she still is at the school._

The phone rang and he heard the tone announcing that it was free for a while. At least until he heard a sudden crack and the line had died. Kai frowned.

 _Did she just push me away?_

Thinking it had to be a mistake Kai called again. And again the line died. When he called a third time, he heard a computer voice announcing that the intended number was currently unreachable. Sabrina had put off her mobile phone.

 _So much for that..._

He remembered how angry she sounded at the school. She was really still suspecting some kind of trap behind their alliance.

"It seems we are on our own. So... where shall we steal a horse for you?", he said resigned to his fate.

Archer didn't answer to his joke. Or at least he hoped he understood it was only a joke. But the pharaoh remained thoughtful.

"There is still a way, Nab Kai", he then announced after some silence. "You wanted the king to 'go all out' in the next battle. Considering what is at stake, the king thinks it is time."

Kai's frown deepened.

"What do you mean? Time for what?"

Instead of answering Archer ordered in a brunt manner "Come with the king." and raised from his seat. Kai swallowed uneasily, but followed regardless. Wordlessly the pharaoh strode through the garden and around the hospital building. For some reason he headed towards the car park next to it.

 _Don't tell me he is going to hijack a car..._

"The king is not a thief...", Archer grunted in response.

 _Damn mindreading..._

Kai now held his tongue. And his thoughts. Archer didn't sound angry for his assumption, but he surely wasn't happy. And thus they found their way to the second-highest floor of the car park. It was less full than the lower levels and as far as Kai could see many of the lots were reserved for hospital personnel. At this noon hour there were no people around, everyone likely busy working.

"So what are we doing here then?", he asked carefully. "Come on, don't let me in the dark like this."

"We seek a spot of light", Archer gave a dark chuckle.

"Not helpful", Kai groaned.

"Rider will strike again. Possibly as you and the king speak right now. The motorway is only known location, he uses it like a hunting ground. You are right, the king needs to catch up to him and force him off the road away from the public", Archer explained next to him.

When he looked up, Kai realized aghast that he had materialized. There he stood in the middle of the shadowy car park in his golden armor that encased the muscled body as if he were embraced by a giant falcon.

"What are you thinking? What if anyone sees you?", Kai looked around for any signs of intruders.

"It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is saving innocent lives. The king is going to fulfil the promise Nab Kai had made. He will stop Rider. Now."

"Now... like, in the middle of the day?"

 _Yeah, because that worked so well the last time._

The words of Archer rang in his ears. He was going to force him off the road.

 _But how?_

"Acquiring a horse wouldn't going to work", Archer said as if in reply to his thoughts. "As far as the story of your classmate is to be trusted, Rider is likely more used to fighting on horseback. And a mortal steed would be a weakness he could exploit. One of your modern cars would also be too restrictive for the purpose of bringing down Rider. They are not made for battle, they are made for transportation only."

Kai nodded in agreement. That meant they were back at the beginning of things again.

"But there is still a way", Archer proclaimed and held out his right hand.

Only then Kai realized where exactly they stood. It was right in front of the curved road leading to the roof. And through the gap in the ceiling a broad ray of light fell into the darkness, illuminating the paved floor in front of them. When Archer said he was searching for light he wasn't kidding. It cut through the darkness like a thick string of hope. This was the magic the pharaoh had sought.

"Mighty Ra, Lord of Sun and Sky. Your champion is calling you, please lend him your strength!", thus Archer began his incantation.

And it was as if the heavens were answering. At once the ray of light became much more powerful. It drew its strength from the sky above and used it to lighten up the dark carpark. The shadows retreated into the most hidden edges and turns while Kai's eyes started to hurt just from watching.

"Behold the king's second Noble Phantasm: **Merkebet-Re - Devine Chariot of Ra**!"

The ray of light flashed up into one blinding explosion. Kai closed his eyes, but he saw it regardless through his lids. Goosebumps covered his body. This was magic. True magic of ages long past. He forced himself to witness it with all his senses. So he opened his eyes again. And he saw how something within the light was given shape. Two horses stepped out of the sky onto the road. Powerful steeds of brown colour wearing fanciful golden armour and feathered crests of blue and orange. And behind them came the gilded chariot with its front covered with a complex relief picturing dawn and twilight. Kai's itching eyes at last went to its driver. A tall and royal looking beauty with long black hair, sharp features and clever black eyes holding the reins of the ferocious animals with firm hands. Her dress of a thin white fabric was purposely simple, but looked extraordinarily finely made regardless. Such thought came easily when there was also her heavy looking necklace made of rings of gold and blue crystals to consider. Kai looked to the pharaoh next to him. And for the first time he saw a sincere smile of genuine awe on his face. Looking back at the driver, Kai wondered why she looked so familiar to him. But before he could speak out his suspicions, Ramesses stepped towards the chariot. Even with her being heightened up the platform, their eyes still met on the same level. She smirked at him.

"You look like you are seeing a ghost", she said.

"No", he replied softly. "It is the sun rising again."

And with these words he lifted her from the chariot and slung his arms around her in a tight embrace. When their lips met to exchange the kiss of two lovers who hadn't seen each other for three thousand years, Kai couldn't help but watch the scene silently. It was then he realized who she was. It was the girl he had seen in his dreams, even though she had grown up into the far more striking woman he now met.

"Nefertari!", he gasped, in the same moment humbly realizing what he had said. "Queen Nefertari I mean."

Their lips parted. Nefertari left the embrace of her husband to eye the one who just spoke up with a knowing smile which somehow looked a tad mischievous to Kai.

"And you are the boy who dragged my dear husband out of his tomb, aren't you?", she asked playfully.

Kai didn't know what to reply.

"This... how can you... Is it... How is this even..."

How is this even possible, he wanted to say. But he stopped himself from saying it realizing how foolish the question was. He had seen Richard Lionheart wielding a sword that never even existed in the first place, so how shall it be odd that one ghost from the past could summon another one?

"Apparently the high queen came to be the king's driver", Archer stated with a slightly amused sounding voice.

"Well, I couldn't really stand back and watch how you make a fool of yourself by taking the reins yourself, can I?", she countered chuckling.

Kai blinked.

"Wait... Nefertari was your charioteer?", he asked incredulously.

The answer seemed to not have been so simple. The royal couple looked at him a bit stunted, frowns adorning both faces.

"Of course not, Nab Kai. The king had a multitude of brave warriors driving him into battle. All of them skilled and dutiful. A few of them even gave their lives for their king. He will never ever forget any of their names so that they can bath in their glory in the afterlife", then he turned back to Nefertari. "But in this particular afterlife there is only one person he trusts to guide him through the battles to come."

"Always the charmer, aren't you?", Nefertari smirked.

"It is the truth", he answered vigorously.

They both exchanged longing looks. Kai couldn't blame them for their reunion, but if it went on like that he was sure to get sick of it.

 _I sincerely hope she can drive though..._

"So... I see, this is your plan to catch up to him", Kai tried to change subject by waving towards the chariot. "You really think you can get him off the road?"

"It is worth trying", Archer replied. "And we have to hurry. The reserves of the king don't allow Merkebet-Re to stay in this world for a long time."

While he spoke Nefertari already climbed back into the platform and took the reins.

"Well then... I wish you two good luck. You tell me how your plan worked out then, eh?", Kai said his farewell uneasily.

 _Otherwise I'm going to see it in the news._

Archer tilted his head.

"This is most unwise, Nab Kai. Remember the hidden enemy watching your steps."

 _Thanks a lot, I have tried not to think about that one._

Pictures of these weird animals attacking him in the garden like they had attacked Sabrina in the woods around Einzbern flashed up in his mind. He had no intention to meet those again, but the other alternative was just too crazy to think about.

"Well, I'll try to get some company... staying at the hospital in plain sight of everyone", he declared evasively. "Considering that the enemy refrains from attacking us in public, I am convinced there will be no imminent danger to me. Just don't worry yourself about me, Archer. Just go out and get them. I'll be right here, keeping my fingers crossed."

He tried to sound confident, but just couldn't stop the nervousness in his voice. Especially since the royal bastard looked down on him with a very dubious expression on his face. Archer didn't even need his telepathy to tell him 'Oh really...'.

"There is too much risk involved, Nab Kai. The king prefers to keep you close", he said and moved a step closer.

Kai retreated a step away.

"Not really. Keeping me safe would actually mean keeping me out of a battle with a soul-sucking spirit."

 _Not to mention riding an insane ghost chariot while at it._

Archer blinked. His face was really serious. Kai gave a wary laugh.

"See, you don't even have enough room for me", he pointed towards the very small platform where Nefertari stood, reins in hand and waiting for her passengers.

"Much the opposite, Nab Kai", Kai thought he saw a dark smirk on Archer's face for a moment when he spoke these words. "These chariots were build to bring three warriors to the battlefield. The driver, the archer... and a shield-bearer."

And with these words Archer stepped further forward and grabbed Kai roughly under his arms. He felt like a small child when the pharaoh lifted him into the air to drag him onto the platform.

"I don't even have a shield...", Kai squealed helplessly.

Not that the pharaoh cared in any way. He dropped him onto the wooden platform, placing his left hand firmly on his shoulder to stop him from escaping elsewhere.

"Forward then, bring us to our enemy!", Ramesses' voice boomed through the dark car park.

And with this Nefertari straightened the rains and shouted some long forgotten words towards the mighty horses. From one moment to the next the proud animals arose to life, trotting onwards in effortless but still quite fast movements, dragging the small little chariot behind it forwards. Kai immediately clasped onto its railings with both hands, fearful not to fall. The movements of the platform were smooth but he couldn't help but look at the ground moving beneath him on every direction. By all means this was not a very safe method of travelling. And he was already fearing how it would look like if they really took on some speed...

Ramesses however saw Kai's clinging to the chariot and seemed to think he was past the danger of jumping out, so he removed his hand and straightened his back to tower over his two companions with all his royal stature. He looked like he owned the place when they took on speed and charged out into the open, passing a small security office where Kai saw at least one frowning face following them. And it certainly wasn't going to be the last one. Kai was glad the hospital was outside in the woods so that they didn't need to drive through any crowded parts of the city startling pedestrians, but they certainly drew the gazes of quite a few drivers whose cars they overtook on the road towards the autobahn.

Standing there on the speeding platform felt weird. Kai watched how Archer pointed at the street signs and told Nefertari which turning she had to take, but it was hard to understand due to the wind having become unbearably loud. The unearthly chariot seemingly smashed through the air with quite some force. And yet Kai didn't feel any of it on his face. He had thought they would be blown from the platform as soon as they started to compete with the cars on the country road. But instead it seemed as if there was an invisible shield which took the onslaught of the raging wind and guided it past them.

 _Well, magic again, eh? I'll pretend I'm not surprised._

Still, magic shield or not, when Kai glanced downwards the ground under him moved with insane speed. He was sure that only taking one step backwards would result in one bone-shatteringly hard landing. So instead he clutched the railing and looked forward, ignoring his cramping heart and the sweat on his brow. He watched how Nefertari guided the devine chariot towards the entryship, gaining even more speed. The two horses flew over the smooth asphalt with long strides. Their gallop so powerful Kai never doubted that they were able to reach the speed needed to keep up with modern vehicles. Seconds later the chariot smoothly entered the motorway circling Einzbern. Kai wasn't quite show whether he should be happy that they weren't stuck in the rush hour or not. At this hour people weren't rushing towards the city anymore so they were able to manoeuvre on the motorway freely without the embarrassing prospect of getting stuck in jammed traffic. But on the other hand... they were able to manoeuvre freely at top speed after all. Kai's legs felt like pudding. He tightened his grip, fearful not to get thrown off their hellish ride. And at that moment doubt hit.

 _This is insane! We don't even know whether he is here or not. What if we waste our energy for-_

"He is here, Nab Kai", the deep booming voice of the pharaoh cut through the wind as if it was nothing.

"What?", Kai gasped in confusion.

"The king can sense his presence. Rider is here. And he knows of the king's arrival as well. Battle is inevitable."

 _Oh dear..._

If Kai could tighten his grip even more, he would have done it. But at this point he only tucked his fingernails into his palms leaving them bloody and aching. There was nothing he could do anymore. He was about to face his next enemy.

"Where?"

Archer looked straight ahead, his body tense and his bow of azure and gold readied in his left hand.

"Right in front of us. He was likely patrolling the area in until the king's arrival and has now adapted his speed to the Merkebet-Re."

 _Wait, that means we were able to get behind him?_

The moment these thoughts crossed his mind a bluish shimmer appeared several dozen meters in front of the chariot. Something took shape... the shape of a dark horseman. Kai was yet unable to see any details, but from what he was able to see the racing horse itself was quite low in comparison to the cars it overtook. The animal seemed small and sturdy, much unlike the massive warhorses pushing Archer's chariot. Rider himself was facing forward, hunched in his saddle and driving the poor animal onwards with high concentration. All Kai was able to make out was the small round shield of plain wood strapped on his back and that he wore some kind of light leather armor which looked quite wearied.

 _Archer mentioned Servants can't fight in spirit form, so he must be readying himself._

Kai used this moment to hastily take his right hand from the railing and wipe the sweat from his brow. His gaze wandered to the heavy street sign above. There was an exit back into Einzbern several hundred meters in front of them. They just needed to catch up to him and force him to leave the ring there.

 _Well, at least we are behind him. That way he can't fight us._

"Brace yourself", Archer suddenly called out.

"Huh?"

He looked back to Rider. The man seemingly gave up on his hunched way of riding and now sat upright, his back straightened and his weapon in hand.

 _It is a bow! A horse archer!_

And with one smooth motion Rider turned around nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, pointing with his curved bow straight at them, an arrow already drawn.

 _Oh for crying out loud!_

Drowned out by the sound of the wind, Rider's arrow loosened almost soundlessly. But at the same time Kai heard a heavy wheezing sound next to him. A golden dart of light shot out of Archer's bow a split second after Rider made his move. And it took only the fraction of a second for them to meet mid-air. A small, but heavy explosion occurred between the two combatants, but the chariot of Ra punched through the puff of smoke so fast Kai was barely able to realize what exactly they just passed.

"Careful, Archer. This is no place for a drawn out battle", he yelled miserably.

"Agreed", and yet Archer called for another spectral arrow.

Rider sent them a quick series of arrows, each one flying at them in a slightly different arc and yet each one with the intend to kill. Archer struck them all down in quick succession, making the air look like they were passing through thick smoke full of magic debris. It was ridiculous. They came to corner Rider and now Archer was just defending himself. Kai looked at the serious face of his partner. He didn't look like defending himself was costing him much strength. Much the opposite, Kai reminded himself that fighting under the uncovered sun meant quite some boost for the pharaoh. These were most ideal conditions. Instead it seemed he was unsure whether it was tactically sound to place a few offensive arrows between his shots.

 _We need to do something. Otherwise we can as well just retreat at the next exit and hope he feels inclined to follow us._

He looked at Archer and the bowman gave a slight nod. The next explosion was cut apart by a second beam of light even before the chariot charged through it. But it was for naught, Riders horse changed its direction slightly so that instead of hitting its rider, the arrow wheezed past him and flung itself into the wall of concrete beneath one of the entry points to the motorway. Kai grimaced when they passed the gaping hole of shattered stone.

"Careful...", he gulped.

"The king will try not to-", he couldn't finish his sentence as he wheeled with his aim to the side and launched a quick arrow seemingly nowhere near Rider's position.

 _What the-_

Another explosion in mid-air. Archer obviously intercepted another arrow and when Kai looked the puff of smoke passing, he watched how a small car started to skid slightly trying to avoid driving through it.

"Did he try to-"

"Indeed", Archer cut him short.

Kai felt something sting in his already racing heart. This was wrong. Fending pursuers off was okay, but Rider obviously tried to drag outsiders into it as some kind of retaliation. Well, more than he already did anyway. This was just the first shot. Not Rider let loose a whole volley, going even so far as to turn fully around to get better aim at his other side. As far as Kai could see rarely an arrow was now aimed at Archer and the chariot of Ra. Instead the Einzberner Ring in its whole width had become a battlefield of smoke and ashes. And behind them the confused car-drivers retreated into the distance. Some smoothly, some not. Those who pushed down their breaks harshly were starting to spin and to skid around. Kai prayed there wouldn't be any severe crashes behind them.

 _Well, at least the motorway becomes even less crowded._

Now there was only a single truck left on their right. And even that one was slowly falling behind, obviously it was just its mass that kept the driver from stopping like the others did. There were also a few cars in some distance in front of Rider, but he seemingly had no interest in bothering those since Archer could not waste his time in defending them anyway.

"Archer! End it already!", Kai ordered with open haste.

Archer leaned forward. And while he crushed the next volley of Rider, he sent an equal amount of his own bolts of weaponized light through the ashes. It all happened in a split second, so Kai had trouble following what exactly had happened, but he could see that when they passed the smoking craters in the asphalt, the horseman in front of them was still charging ahead.

 _His skill with the bow is equal to that of Archer!_

Kai dreaded the thought, but that was the only explanation. He had shot down Archer's arrows himself. Or at least most of them. Some he evaded by guiding his horse to the side. And yet Archer wouldn't let him go. With awakened vigour he fought like an inhumanly fast machine. Far surpassing the boundaries of mortal archery, he shot with the speed of a machine gun and the accuracy of a sniper.

 _Oh shit..._

The entire motorway was engulfed in countless explosions. The shattering of the magic projectiles was clear to hear over the sound of the howling wind, causing Kai to think about how you feel inside a warzone. His legs gave way and he sank down into the platform, desperately wanting to avoid the deadly crossfire. He barely registered the soft hand of Nefertari who, having watched her passenger panicking, tried to comfort him by tapping his shoulder.

And so the high-speed chase continued as a relentless exchange of explosive ammunition. Kai wanted it to be over as soon as possible, but he was forced into the position of a mere watcher and so he watched. He watched how Archer apparently made an effort to drive Rider to the side and thus into one of the exits by shooting next to the hooves of his horse. But it didn't seem to face Rider at all, he even let his beast jump over the smoking craters into the opposite direction. Much to Kai's chagrin, he seemed intent on staying on the open road.

 _Can't we do noth-_

While Kai was busy despairing, Rider suddenly turned around and shouldered his bow again. It didn't took Kai long to realize that this was not a good sign. The horseman raced on with unseen endurance, evading Archer's powerful blasts of light with swift sideways-turns and even a few jumps. Without waiting for Archer to press his newly gained advantage Rider drew his sword. It was slender and curved, shining in the sunlight in gold and silver. It looked truly precious, more like a treasure than an actual weapon.

 _Don't say he is going to use his Noble Phantasm right here..._

Kai braced himself. It sure was the only thing he could imagine.

"Be careful", he shouted against the thrashing wind.

Archer remained concentrated on his battle, Nefertari nodded slightly. Kai returned his attention to the horseman.

 _He isn't turning back to us and also isn't slowing down to go into close-combat. What the hell is he trying to do?_

Rider raised his sword into the air, high above his head. That was not an attack, it looked to Kai more like some kind of salute. A salute that wasn't directed at the pharaoh. Kai looked ahead, he looked up, trying to see what else there was he could be pointing his sword at.

 _Oh hell no!_

It was the moment Rider passed under a small pedestrian bridge. It was pure instinct that made him know this was that he was pointing at.

"Stop the chariot, now!", Kai yelled, his whole body feeling numb suddenly.

Because he saw it. It was an insane thought, but he saw and felt it even. The second Rider passed that bridge, it was like the whole construction shivered. The Servant never came close enough to even touch it, but it looked like he somehow cut the strings that kept the bridge together. No, even that thought was not quite correct. The bridge exhaled its last breath with a terrible shriek and then it just died. Kai wanted to slap himself awake, but that was the most fitting description of what he had just witnessed. The bridge died. And accepting that fact, it dropped to the ground in its entirety, dislodged and crumbling.

 _We aren't going to make it..._ , Kai realized aghast.

Nefertari did as well. She pulled at the reins and did that hard, forcing the animals to the right. The thin wheels of the chariot ploughed deeply through the asphalt and Kai was pressed against the railings of the skidding vehicle. It was an insane stop, but for some reason they managed to come to a halt without turning the whole thing over. Right next to the dusty field of destruction.

 _That was pretty damn close..._

Kai looked around with horrifying thoughts. The bridge was down, the entire thing was barely recognizable as such. Just a huge pile of ruined concrete with frames of steel sticking out like an exposed ribcage. The wreckage was covering every single lane of Einzberner Ring. The few cars which were still daring enough to follow the two combatants at least had kept enough distance that they were able to stop somewhere behind the chariot, but Kai feared the worst for those on the other side. He couldn't remember much traffic into the opposite direction, but they certainly had no chance to get scared away by the fighting. And even though he was quite sure he saw no pedestrian anywhere near the bridge, the possibility itself was choking him.

"The hell just happened?", Kai asked with a thin voice, the sudden silence making him feel even more terrible.

"It seems our friend got away", Nefertari stated bluntly, she herself turning towards her husband next to her.

Archer nodded.

"His presence is fading, he escaped somewhere else", he was still glaring at the wreckage in front of him as if that would make it go away.

Kai turned around. People were already leaving their cars behind themy. They still kept their distance, but it was not only the destroyed bridge that drew their attention. These were the people who had already seen the antiquated chariot racing over the motorway. And their curiosity would soon overcome their fear.

"We need to disappear and we need to disappear fast!", Kai was barely able to keep himself from panicking.

Nefertari nodded with a grim expression and thus the chariot raced forward along the rubble. When the horses jumped over the fencing in order to climb up into the woodland surrounding the motorway, Kai didn't even flinch. He was way past caring about himself. Their 'plan' blew up in their face. Not even brought they more carnage to Einzbern, they still failed to take down a rampaging killer who was sure to strike again. They had to think up something new. And fast.

 **London, later the same day**

As well as he guarded himself in the presence of other Magi, the room in which he lived in was quite a remarkable sight, at least for a lecturer of the famed Clock Tower university. It was certainly not untidy, even though manuscripts and books of magecraft tended to pile up here and there. Living an organized life was something he was proud of and that was not that unusual among his peers. It was the TV screen embedded into a bookshelf that was unusual. That and the gaming console beneath. And the gaming merchandise of which most was stuffed in shelves, but some posters were openly displayed. For as much as his colleagues knew about modern technology, these pieces could have been artefacts of True Magic to them. Well, aside the fact that they would rather sneer instead of murdering him to get their dirty fingers on them. Regardless, he could feel lucky enough this place had electricity...

But it was not the time to think about the past-times a certain old friend once introduced him to. Even though the cause of his most recent headache brought back bittersweet memories of him. No. Lord Archibald El-Melloi II. sat at his desk and pondered something else entirely when the knock on his door came. He looked up with a grim expression even though he had awaited this person.

"Come in", he announced, barely raising his voice.

The door opened and a girl entered. A Japanese girl in red, with long black hair and a name that wakened dark memories in Lord El-Melloi II. Dark memories of a boy called Waver and a man clad in gold who murdered his first and only friend. Of course the girl had nothing to do with that, she must have been a child when it happened. And yet he was torn apart between sadness and curiosity when he heard of the two new students from Fuyuki, both survivors of the Fifth Grail War. Nobody expected it to happen so early, so the Mage's Association sent two combatants into it with barely any preparation and as expected both of them were killed fairly early on. It was quite baffling that the winners turned out to be those youngsters who were barely out of childhood when it happened.

The boy called Waver within him chuckled. He wasn't much older than them, wasn't he? And as much as the boy turned out to be useless, the girl who now stood in front of him was indeed a particularly promising student. As much as El-Melloi II. wanted to deny that lineage was any more than an unfair headstart against less fortunate fellows, she turned out to be a prodigy who could stand up against even the highest lords of the Clock Tower. Even then, Lord El-Melloi II. wouldn't have paid her much attention if it was only her Magic Crest, but she also proved to be an extraordinarily diligent student. He liked that. He liked that she wasn't resting on the boon nature threw to her, but still thirsted for more knowledge. And yet her ambitions were not as destructive as those of other 'promising' students of the university. Since Lord El-Melloi II. had a certain knack for sensing the true capabilities within a person, he made use of that to see what she was made of. And he found it... delightfully conflicting. She may aspired to master the arts of magic, but she restricted herself to a moral code similar to ordinary humans. A rare trait among Magi. And for Lord El-Melloi II., who was quite sick of the rather pointless scientific excesses his colleagues indulged themselves in, it was a refreshing change. So he personally supervised her advance regardless of her connection to Fuyuki and so far it proved to be a delightful pastime.

"Sorry for the intrusion. That creepy maid-thing told me you wanted to speak with me, Lord El-Melloi?", Rin Tohsaka asked after closing the door.

"The second", he corrected her, grimacing slightly.

Rin sighed.

"Lord El-Melloi _the second_ , right... So... What is it you need me for?"

"Well, one subject after another, Miss Tohsaka. I asked her to fetch both of you younglings but only you showed up. What happened to the boy?"

She frowned in confusion.

"Emiya-kun?"

"I guess that was his name, yes", El-Melloi responded bluntly.

Tohsaka scratched the back of her head.

"As it happens, that blockhead left several weeks ago to someplace in Eastern Europe", she explained with some degree of resignation in her voice.

"Huh? You mean that weird 'vampire-hunting' field trip organized by the Enforcers? I thought only few were stupid enough to join them."

Now it was her turn with the grimacing, but at the end she shrugged it away.

"What shall I say? Ever since you showed him the Association's files on his father he was quite eager to learn more what the guy did for a living. I told him it is a terrible idea, but oh well...", Tohsaka gave a deep sigh. "So, now you're just stuck with me. Are you very disappointed?"

The lecturer immediately waved a soothing motion with his arms.

"Oh no, much the opposite! I am glad you came. I believe you are the only person I can rely on in this matter. Let's get down to the problem at hand..."

The girl frowned, but didn't say anything. So El-Melloi used the time to switch on the TV and clicked through the channels.

"It just came up a few hours ago, watch and please tell me what you think."

Rin Tohsaka crossed her arms and waited patiently, even though with a wary expression, until he found a news channel which was reporting about it. The screen showed a bird's eye view on a motorway blocked with rubble somewhere in Germany.

"Today in the late morning a pedestrian bridge over the beltway of the city of Einzbern in Germany collapsed.", the news reporter explained. "Due to remarkable luck, only six people received light injuries as a result of rear-end collisions. Nobody was buried under the wreckage. Cause for the accident seems to be a pyrotechnical failure in an unauthorized indie-movie which was shot at the crash site."

"What?", Tohsaka protested in disbelieve.

Lord El-Melloi motioned her to quietly watch the last part, even though he couldn't suppress a slight chuckle himself. The bird's eye view transmitted by the TV-helicopter disappeared and instead the pictures of a shaky hand-camera of considerably less quality appeared.

"These amateur recordings show how vehicles of these irresponsible filmmakers chased each other without regard for the traffic shortly before they reached the bridge", the reporter continued.

As it happened, the view through the rear window was horribly warped, you barely saw anything. And it wasn't helping that the cameraperson aimed back and forth between the outside and people in the car who blabbered some words in their confusion and excitement. But when the two figures passed them, they were clearly to see as what they were. Even Tohsaka suddenly leaned forward, studying the TV with shock plainly written across her face. There they were. Chasing each other. A rugged man on horseback and an Egyptian looking couple in a chariot. Both of them exchanging bursts of lighting so fast the camera was barely able to capture it.

"Police reports that the responsible filming crew was soon thereafter taken into custody, an investigation for negligent bodily injury and vandalism has been started. The total amount of property damage caused has yet to be estimated, but first assesses by-", Lord El-Melloi cut the reporter short by shutting off the TV after the amateur video had finished.

He sighed deeply when he put down the remote. The girl held her chin varying somewhere between being thoughtful and irritated.

"Those were Servants, no doubt about that... A Grail War...", her voice was strangely thin. "But what kind of idiot fights in the light of day?"

"Someone who has absolutely no idea what he is doing, I guess", El-Melloi replied gravely.

Tohsaka nodded.

"This seems most unusual. Even the fact that someone created another Grail aside, they can't seriously expect people to just accept this being the work of a filming crew!"

"You'd be surprised what people accept to keep their coherent old worldview", El-Melloi snickered. "And from what I've already seen this story at least is a tad more creative than most. May I remind you of the 'hallucinogen gases' incident they made up after a Deep One strolled through Mion River?"

"Fine, but it still looks like the Church was caught unaware. They usually wouldn't allow film footage to leak", Tohsaka continued. "What is the position of the Clock Tower Lords on the matter?"

El-Melloi had quite something to say about the incident, but as he was just one among many Lords he knew Tohsaka wasn't asking about his own opinion.

"Their stance is the usual one. They denied every connection with it when some flustered Church representatives came knocking a few hours ago. They pretend they don't care, but of course they secretly hope someone succeeds in reaching the root this time", the lecturer shrugged. "It's not like the Church is going to buy that either. Everyone knows who is responsible for that mess and if it were anyone else the Mage's Association surely had already intervened as to not let him blow our cover."

The girl looked up at these words.

"They said the incident happened in Einzbern... I guess the name is not a coincidence, right?"

"Exactly. The Einzberns were feudal lords in this area since medieval times, cooperating with our Association representatives as well."

"Jubstacheit von Einzbern...", Rin Tohsaka snarled. „I can't believe it. What is that guy thinking after all the history of Fuyuki?"

"He's not thinking past his own ambitions, like Magi usually do."

Now the two sighed simultaneously. Tohsaka scratched her forehead as if she needed to rub some headache away. That one seemed to be contagious.

"At least I see why you think I am the only one you can rely on...", she admitted.

"The way I see it there aren't many people around who fought in a Grail War..."

 _... and survived._ , he added silently.

"So... if you would agree with the 'wait and see'-approach of your fellow Lords I am certain you wouldn't have need to call me here, Lord El-Melloi. So what do you want from me?"

"The second...", El-Melloi grumbled. "Well, Miss Tohsaka, who do you think were those combatants?"

She blinked about the sudden change of topic.

"How should I know? Those Heroic Spirits didn't appear at our Grail War if that is what you want to know."

"They aren't from the fourth war either", El-Melloi shook his head. "But that's not what I asked about. I'm more interested in the Masters."

"Huh?"

El-Melloi knew that the fifth Fuyuki Grail War was a most unusual business. He expected the girl to see the pattern immediately.

"Oh...", she suddenly realized. "I see... Neither of these two Servants belonged to the Einzberns, right?"

"Right, I assume the same", the lecturer replied. "But who is the Master then?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Since no Magi in his right mind would fight in the public like this..."

"... then it can't be trained Magi!", he gave her a worried look.

"This is a disaster!", Tohsaka said aghast.

"We can be glad if the city still stands tomorrow morning", El-Melloi groaned. "But that's how it is. You wanted to know whether I share the stance of my fellow Masters? Well, I think they are morons who blissfully walk on a landmine by letting Einzbern act as recklessly as he does!"

Tohsaka nodded.

"So you have a plan?", she asked carefully.

"I'm working on it", he admitted, a bit more sheepishly then expected.

"Oh great...", she replied sarcastically.

"Anyway, can I count on your support?", he asked, now turning serious again. "You know I am still of rank four. I could really need your field expertise there."

The girl sighed, but for some reason he sensed that was only an act again. He knew Tohsaka had a weakness when it came to the protection of innocents. She might complain about it, but she wouldn't let anyone come to harm if she had any say in it either.

"I think I could allow myself to get persuaded...", for some reason a mischievous grin appeared on her face.

"Uh... I guess I can ask for a few favours with your other tutors...", he assured her. "So don't worry this could negatively influence your studies. I will inform them of your absence and all. It will work out for you."

She smiled triumphantly.

"Then it is decided! I believe it could also be a good opportunity to try out these spells we were working on anyway."

"I'm glad to hear that", El-Melloi allowed himself to return her smile. "I have already made the arrangements. We meet at 9 o'clock in Heathrow. We will travel to Germany and see how we can intervene on behalf of the Association."

"So early?", Rin asked.

"As I said, I prefer to reach the city as long as it still stands", he grimaced uneasily.

"I see", with these words she turned towards the door. "Then we will see us tomorrow morning."

He answered her bow with a little bow of his own and watched her leaving. It was not until she had opened the door before he realized he had forgotten one last detail.

"Oh, Miss Tohsaka!", he called out from his desk.

She turned around in the middle of exiting, she was already halfway through the door.

"Is there something else?", she asked blinking.

"Ah yeah, just a minor detail", he chuckled. "Don't forget to bring Saber!"

* * *

 _Author's Notes: Just for the record, I intended to write these repercussions from the very beginning, even though I was still vary of how to include the old guard without taking away from the Sixth Grail War participants. But I believe I now have plotted out the details of the endgame in way where I am confident this is going to work out. So have fun!_


	14. Chapter 13 - Nina

Okay fine. I promised to put up the next chapter soon, but as you can see, things delayed a bit again. I'm currently between exams, so college is currently quite messy and I don't get much time to write. And I honestly admit, that whole Star Wars hype made me continue an old SW-story, that also took a bit of time. What shall I say? I already told you guys that I suck at Slice of Life and after that short, but crucial battle in the last chapter I wanted to give you a little breather with this one and the next. I should have seen then and there that my writing pace comes to a crashing halt then... So here we are, Team Lancer goes back to business!

* * *

Chapter 13 - Nina

 **Pontus, 1192BC**

"I beg you to reconsider, oh radiant queen", the young boy Aeneas was on his knees. "Think of the long friendship between our peoples. The Greeks come under the pretence of righteous vengeance, but we all know what their true aim is. Troy controls the trade into the Euxine Sea. They come for our riches... and those beyond. They will not stop at our harbour!"

The queen was unyielding. Her throne room was dark and roughly furnished. There were no lavish decorations, no expensive carpets or anything else. Even the throne itself was hewn from a single black granite stone, massive and ominous, blood-red cushions being the most luxurious aspect of the room. You may have called it Spartan, but even the Lacedaemonians despite all claims to the opposite tended to brag with their riches. The Amazons did not. The young envoy from Troy at first looked quite underwhelmed upon entering the palace, he surely expected much more after so much travel. But the radiance of the queen herself seemed to have brought back his spirit. He defended his case valiantly, but it was for nought.

"My decision stands", the Queen of the Amazons replied, her fine features showing only soft signs of dismay. "We are not bound to the obligations made by men. Your prince Paris has offended gods and men. I say let the gods decide upon his fate and the one of his ill-begotten love."

The young envoy seemed taken aback. He gulped, seemingly uneasy what do make of these words which sounded threatening and yet contained craven meaning. The queen saw that and continued her speech in a softer tone.

"You have come a long way, brave warrior. Return home, tell King Priamos of my answer and find some rest. War is upon your people and you will need all your strength to prevail."

A soft blush rose to his face.

"You are kind to me, my queen. So you have no intention... to join the Greeks instead?"

 _It was a fear that came not quite out of nowhere. The queen he was talking to was called Hippolyta, she was the daughter of fierce Antiope. In her veins flew the blood of Theseus, the already legendary hero of Athens. And Athens joined the fleet of Agamemnon. If matters of commerce couldn't convince her, blood ties maybe did..._

"Rest assured, young envoy. The daughters of Mars don't intend to spill blood on the fields of Illion. For either side", Queen Hippolyta couldn't help but give an amused laugh at the notion.

 _Indeed, her cousins may fight in the siege, but it was not a son of Theseus who let the Athenians. King Menestheus had no relations to her and didn't even bother to send an envoy of his own._

"I see", the boy mumbled to himself, at least until he remembered that he was still kneeling in front of a foreign ruler. "King Priamos will be disappointed, but this will be the message I will bring to him."

"Farewell then, you may go", the queen made a hand gesture offering her leave.

Aeneas rose, made a short bow and then proceeded towards the exit. Two other Trojan warriors fell in besides him as an escort. As soon as he left, Hippolyta gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her temples. In this moment another figure strode out of the shadows around the columns. Her fine features were not unlike the queen. She had the same olive skin, the same pitch black hair, the same majestic stature. And yet where the queen was dignified and made an impression of cold rationality this woman was wild and made the impression of a stalking predator starved for battle. This woman was the one who would become Lancer.

"How incredibly cautious of you, dear sister", Lancer smirked. "I think the boy for a moment believed himself to have arrived in the wrong country."

Hippolyta didn't take her jest as well as she expected.

"We may have our reputation, but a reputation doesn't harvest our crops, a reputation doesn't build our cities and a reputation doesn't do trade to fill our coffers. My warring predecessors have left the Amazons in a desolate state. If we do not take care, we will end up as a bare whisper of history instead."

Lancer crossed her arms, snorting derisively.

"Yeah I get it. War is expensive and our purses are empty. So we can't afford to defend an allied city. Shall we join the Greeks instead? You have heard the boy's fears, maybe we can make good use of our share of Priam's legendary treasury."

The queen gave her a dubious look.

"Troy is not some fishing village ripe for razing. With its impregnable walls the entire Mesogeios may attempt to storm it, just to break like a tidal wave against a sturdy rock. And like the waves they will need years to whittle the Trojans down. Trust my judgement, sister. Joining this conflict of men will only mean death."

The woman who was about to become Lancer sighed and raised her hands in an apologetic gesture.

"I see your point. I can't help it, you were always the wiser of us two", the scowl on her face made place for a bright smile, a smile returned by Hippolyte.

 _It was no exaggeration back then. Like always her prediction was frighteningly accurate. Years passed and while the Amazons prospered in peace, news of the heavy fighting around Illion reached us week for week. Unable to take the city by storm the massive Greek army was reduced to a band of marauders laying waste to the countryside, killing and plundering in desperate need for supplies. The Trojans also had trouble being imprisoned within their own walls without being able to care for their burned down fields. It all came down to who would falter first in this game of time and exhaustion._

The image blurred and the eerie darkness of the throne room was replaced by the bright green of a deciduous forest. The sun shone brightly and laughter rang through the woods as a group of four Amazons with throwing spears and clad in light leather armor arrived in a clearing.

 _Well, you know, peacetime is all nice and busy if you are a farmer or a craftswoman or a merchant. But if you consider yourself a warrior first and foremost, you tend to get bored quite quickly. Your daily exercises feel pointless without a foe of flesh and blood to slay, your muscles ache for true battle. In the end, I simply wanted to kill something, that is all. As the younger sister of the queen it was actually my duty to protect her and yet it was me begging her to accompany me into the royal woods. Just to vent some surplus energy, just to have some fun as the sisters we were._

"So what is it our royal highness seeks to hunt?", Alcibie asked the queen with a smirk. "A deer?"

"A proud stag?", asked their second companion, Thermodosa.

"A vicious boar?", the queen's sister proposed.

Hippolyte laughed.

"Now you are absurd. There was no boar sighted in the royal woods since Heracles came to get this accursed girdle from our aunt."

"Ugh... that monstrosity sure was a strain for our hospitality", Lancer groaned.

"Have you heard the tales the Greeks are said to whisper to each other?, Thermodosa asked with a worried expression.

Lancer and Alcibie frowned. It was only Hippolyte who nodded grimly.

"Slanders and falsities, most of them. People seem to confuse events happening during the visit of Theseus. Next time we must send our own storytellers to correct them or else our history is destined to be warped by the tongues of drunken singers making up forgeries to make their so-called heroes sound better."

Lancer seemed taken aback.

"Pray tell sister, what are those dogs singing about?"

Hippolyte shrugged, her features looking more resigned than angry.

"Many things and nothing at once. Some say Heracles killed my namesake in battle, some say he killed the queen of our people, some said our aunt _was_ the queen. It gets more confusing with Theseus involved. Some tell the true story of Heracles receiving the hospitality of the queen correctly, just with the names changed. Some say Theseus tried to took our queen by force, the same way others say Heracles did that. Only few tell the boring old truth."

The woman who was about to become Lancer scowled.

"Yes, you are right. We should sent out our own singers. And we should order them to cut out the tongues of all they witness spreading slander."

The two companions laughed at what they perceived as a joke, but Hippolyte, knowing her sister well, just grimaced and tried to smooth the situation over.

"We should spread out. If we charge through the woods in idle chat, we will even scare away the chestnuts", she shot her sister grim look. "Alcibie!"

The warrior bowed deeply when asked to accompany the queen.

"You honour me."

And with these words the two of them strode away and soon disappeared in the dense rain forest.

"Have I angered her in any way?", Lancer asked, her dark mood suddenly swapped with confusion.

"Not more than usual", Thermodosa replied with a smirk, before she herself also made of into a slightly different path than the one her queen took.

"What is it you want to imply?", Lancer followed her aghast.

 _You may get the wrong impression from that scene alone. Though we disagreed quite often, I and my sister were quite inseparable. It was like a blessing from the gods that brought us together into this world in order to complement each other. Where I was blunt as a rock she proved politically cunning. Where she lacked decisiveness I was the one spurning her onwards. If she alone would have been queen, our people surely would have come to a standstill. When I would have been queen, our people surely would have grinded themselves down due to my short-sightedness. If this was the intention of our godly father, it sure was a nice spot of sanity for that brutish bastard._

Lancer and Thermodosa were still sneaking through the forest minutes later. Trying not to disturb their prey they ceased all conversation. Silently Lancer pointed at some broken branches and fresh dung indicating they were quite close to something. And something large at that. Lancer gripped her hunting spear tightly. It was a short weapon with both a reinforced handle and a little weight at the lower end to balance the bronze spear-head out. It was the kind of high-precision throwing spear you could find among hunters everywhere in the world.

And then they found it.

 _You might think such a life-changing event in my life was caused by some otherworldly perfect creature which looked like having escaped from the gardens of Artemis herself. Damn shame it wasn't. At least I could've guided my anger towards that goddess then. But this was just a deer, scrawny and barely grown. If I had any sense back then, I would have ignored it and moved on looking for better prey. But as usual my mind wasn't clear. The bloodlust was upon me._

The animal stood there at the edge of a small ridge, gnawing at the branches of a small bush. Lancer readied her spear with the right hand, the muscles in her arm tightening when she held it upright. The deer was completely oblivious to the scene when the Amazon carefully stepped closer. Thermodosa stayed back and watched how the captain of the royal guards made her kill. Lancer put forth her left foot and then with all her might threw the javelin forward along with her right foot. A crack echoed throw the forest. It was an amateur's mistake, one Lancer immediately cursed even before she saw its repercussions. She was so focused on her prey she paid no heed to where exactly her right foot ended up landing. And of course she stepped onto some tiny twigs, cracking loud enough to startle the animal and make it jump away. The spear wheezed forward simultaneously, but it was no good. It missed the deer, smashed through the bushes and disappeared down into the hollow below the ridge.

"Don't say a word...", Lancer grumbled to her companion, but Thermodosa shrugged as if she didn't care either way for that escaped scrawny beast.

The two Amazons stepped out of their hiding place and closed the distance to the ridge in order to retrieve the lost throwing spear.

 _Fool that I was, my only thoughts where about whether the weapon landed softly or not... I had no patience to bend the tip back into shape if it happened to hit a stone or something._

But when they reached the ridge and scanned the area below, it was like the time was frozen for the moment and the entire forest fell into an eerie silence. The woman who was about to become Lancer looked into the scenery of green and yellow, but it was the red that made her feel dizzy. She hadn't even fully realized what happened and yet her heart and her head already knew. When she looked down into the wide-eyed face of Alcibie, she already knew what happened. She never even needed to look at the face of the person who lay struck down at the ground, a spear in her belly.

"Please, please, please...", Lancer pleaded softly.

The setting had changed. The group had apparently moved the queen to a small cabin nearby. It was inhabited by an old couple and since Lancer was too focused on her sister, it was the job of Alcibie to apologize for the intrusion and ask for help. The old crone hurriedly begged them in, ordering the husband to bring clean sheets and to boil some wine. They had already broken the spear back in the woods so that only the tip was sticking out of the belly of their queen when they placed her on the bed. But the wound was still bleeding profoundly and the face of Hippolyte was pale from agony and blood loss. She was barely able to keep herself awake.

"Please, do not leave me!", Lancer begged, holding the hand of her sister tightly.

"Grip it any more tight and you'll break it", Hippolyte chided her softly then.

The sister grimaced in her worry, unable to accept her attempt at lightening the mood. Even when Thermodosa came back with the healer, she never left her side. Even when Hippolyte gasped in pain about the spear tip being removed and the wound being burned out, she never let go of her hand. Only after the queen fainted during the appliance of some weird looking tincture to the wound, Lancer allowed herself to join the healer and her sisters in battle outside.

"How does it look like?", Thermodosa asked warily.

"Your queen is strong, that is the only certainty. Any lesser woman would have surely died by now", the wise woman replied. "But fate is a fickle thing beyond the grasp of humans. Right now her life is in the hands of the Gods. They claim it or may decide not to, I have done everything I could."

"Don't speak in riddles, crone, I have no patience for it. What is her mortal condition?", Lancer snapped.

The old woman shook her head.

"The wound is severe. Her inner organs are damaged, poisons are surely seeping out. I have done every magic I know, but I fear I cannot revive the dead."

For one moment the three warriors just stood there in shock. Lancer looked as pale as her sister did before.

"What have I done...", she whispered.

"You have done no-", Thermodosa tried to comfort her, but she didn't listen to any of it, she just turned away and entered the room of her sister again.

She was awake again. Whether she had willed herself back into consciousness or never really faded out in the first place, it made no matter. When her sister sat down next to her bed, Hippolyte's eyes followed her every step. Lancer struggled for words, but unable to find anything appropriate, she allowed silence to swallow the room. And while stared at the feeble woman who was so full of life just half an hour ago, her eyes began to get watery with tears.

"So bad, eh?", the queen's voice was thin and hoarse, her face grimacing in pain.

Ashamed about the fact that her tears betrayed her thoughts, Lancer rubbed them out of her eyes, forcing a stern look unto herself.

"No. You have the strength to live to the next day, that's what the healer said", Lancer said miserably.

Hippolyte gave a weak sneer.

"You were always a miserable liar."

The warrior averted her gaze.

"I killed you", she admitted stricken with grief.

"Everyone with eyes in her head will tell you otherwise", Hippolyte replied chidingly, she then stretched out her pale hand. "Stay with me, please."

"I will", the sister answered, taking it firmly.

 _It is the coldness that I can still recall vividly. Her hands were cold as ice, as if the warmth of life was fleeing her._

"Our people... it needs you, sister", Hippolyte whispered softly after a while.

"It needs you, that is the only truth I can accept", Lancer replied.

"I mean that seriously...", she groaned.

"Sorry... I just... can't..."

"Can't what? Bear the responsibility?", her pained face formed a dark smile. "You have to... You are my heir... so listen... guide them... with strength as much as with wisdom."

"You can't just burden me like this", Lancer pleaded.

Hippolyte gave a strained chuckle.

"See it as... some kind retribution... Accept it... and make the best out of it", these last words came with a sigh so deep it sounded like all energy was already leaving.

"Please, don't..."

"You are queen now... Penthesilea", and with these words, the spark of life vanished in her eyes.

 _An entire life shattered by one simple mistake. With this cruel fate ended the life of the Amazons' last great queen... and my story begun. A throne that I never wanted thrust at me, along with the vengeance of the Erinyes for having taken the life of my sister. A sin I would need to atone for one way or another..._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Nina Linke was shivering when she opened her eyes. Sitting up, she stared at her hands and found them shaking. She had never before in her life seen someone die. Of course she had her share of losses, but somehow she was either lucky to have never suffered to witness it or too craven to actually seek it. Even when her father died, he did that quietly in a hospital bed while she had spent the night at home. Nina had felt the shock of course. It had felt numbing, she felt helpless, but she was also able to look at it with a rational mind and accept it as it was. This was different. She had still the rattling sound of Hippolyte's last breath in her ears. She had shared the sheer terror Lancer had felt. And Nina was barely able to grasp how Penthesilea could remain that cool during the entire tragedy.

 _A myth from thousands of years ago... kind of baffling to see the real people beneath._

Nina looked around and found herself back in the modern age, but still somewhat in the past. It was her own apartment, not the one of Nick she had spent most of the last months in. Once again she was glad that she never really moved into his place. After what had happened during the summoning of Lancer she couldn't stand setting even one step back there. At least she hadn't left much stuff there and nothing she would miss much. Therefore she had no problem returning home with her unexpected ally.

"Good morning, Master", a hard voice announced.

Nina looked towards the doorframe. There she stood, wearing casual clothes and yet resisting to be casual at all.

"Good morning, Lea", Nina replied, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Did you keep watch all night?"

"It is important to stay vigilant. This place is not very defensible", the Amazon replied curtly.

The Master sighed. A real person from thousands of years ago was still a person from thousands of years ago after all.

"It doesn't need to, it's just where I live...", she complained.

"Just one more reason to make our base habitable as soon as possible."

The 'base' in question was the clubhouse. Nina could still not quite believe how fast she had gained the trust of everyone in the Einzbern chapter. The previous day still lingered in the back of her mind like a vivid dream. One that ended as a nightmare, but a dream nonetheless. After she made such a striking first impression Lea never let her off the hook, helping her rally the chapter to set in stone her position as the new Einzbern representative. It was eerie how fast the responsible decision-makers from the mother club faltered at the words of the Amazon and the support of the boys, but now she was officially recognized. It was odd in more ways than one. While the club itself was not known for excluding female members like others did, she had never heard of a woman being in a position to decide things. At least there was no one she was aware of. That the old bears made an exception for her of all people felt somehow flattering and undeserved at once. What happened thereafter however...

 _Fuck that damn pharaoh..._

She cursed her own stupid idea even more than she did that opponent they had faced. Nina thought it was a good idea to gather a group of her boys to encircle an enemy Master in the vain hope to startle them through superior Masters. But already after fighting that little girl with her red knight she had realized that no mortal could make a difference in these disastrous duels. This was fight between armed opponents, this was the facing-off of two natural disasters. Even though she had realized that much, the knot in her throat made her hesitate too long while most of the boys were too awestruck to do the clever thing and go home. So before she was able to give the command, she suddenly found herself following Lea to the next enemy together with their entire entourage. And of course that became a disaster as soon as the police showed up, startled by the ruckus in their wake.

 _Thankfully they had no evidence whatsoever that we were involved in the incidents at all. Heck, the streets looked like a bulldozer crashed through them! How could a couple of guys with motorbikes do so much damage?_

"They seemingly let the boys go that the caught", Nina said a few moments later during breakfast with Lea.

She was checking SMS on her phone during their plain meal of bread and sausage. The boys sounded glad enough to have been let off the hook, but a few of their words sounded grumpy.

"I guess I can count myself happy if they show up today at all...", she sighed, typing excuses.

"Don't be so sure about that", Lancer smirked between two bites. "It takes more than that to scare men like these followers of yours away. In fact I believe now that they are privy to the stakes of your battle, their faith in your leadership just grows."

Nina looked up from her phone warily.

"Whether your words are true or not, I will promise them to not drag them into this again. It was a stupid idea... let's give the boys the scouting jobs while we do the fighting on our own."

Lea gave her a mischievous grin.

"Agreed. Let's do it like this, my Master."

Having her good blessing was enough to make typing easier. She needed as many of them as possible to get the clubhouse running. Having finished everything she had to do, she continued her breakfast, silently watching the Amazon queen dutifully munching down a slice of toast.

 _She could wear a potato sack and still look royal. I still can't believe how beautiful she is._

"And you still haven't changed your mind about our strategy?", Nina asked carefully.

"No, not at all. Trust my judgement, we have seen the last of those two."

It bugged her since the day before. There was no way they could have kept on fighting the pharaoh, but Nina thought Lea let go of that knight far too easily. Especially since it looked like she was about to win the fight. She kept insisting it was part of her strategy and that she was trying to bring them down with minimal effort, but it still felt like it served no purpose.

But this was a thought for another day. Their the next destination was far more mundane. After finishing their meal and preparing herself Nina and Lancer went to their bikes and rode out towards the old building in the industrial district they had procured. It was the last remnant of Nick's short-lived leadership and the first step into hers...

 _For a bloody ruin without a lock it looks surprisingly well._ , Nina thought inspecting it the third time.

"The walls can barely delay an enemy, but its location makes it ideal to force an intruder out into the open", Lancer complemented her thoughts, stepping down from her machine.

They at first were strolling around the yard, looking for any cracks on the outside. Luckily they found none. In fact apart of the occult scribbles made by those youngsters there was nothing wrong on the inside either. Even the bathrooms looked usable, even though they needed to connect the building to the water supply in order to find out whether they were prone to flooding the ground level. According to those kids, they broke in only a bit more than a week ago, apparently word of the unguarded real estate hadn't spread in this time.

 _Let's see how much we can do today._

Lancer was wrenching open the windows which were nailed shut by the former owner. It was a little strange watching her doing that with bare hands, but Nina was just glad it went so smoothly. They had already reached the first floor, with Lea having just finished the first one in an empty room up there when Nina saw the first guest of the day arriving in the yard. It was no member of the club chapter formerly known as Vipers. In fact this person was using a bicycle instead of a motorcycle... It was a young girl with a schoolbag, stopping in the middle of the empty yard, scanning her surrounding warily.

 _She is early._

Nina looked at her companion. Lea also looked through the window and while she kept her guard up, she somehow seemed a tad less aggressive than usual. The Master shrugged.

"Hello there, Sarah!", she called out.

And the girl looked up in surprise, forcing herself to wave back. It seemed she wouldn't let go of that last trace of suspicion.

"Come right in, we are alone!", Nina said.

She and Lea went down to the ground floor. Sarah stood there in the middle of the still rather dark hall. Despite the windows now being open, it was still rather ominous with both the lack of electric lightning and the presence of those dark occult mandalas everywhere.

"Sorry for the mess, we haven't expected you so soon", Nina apologized while Lancer just stood behind her with crossed arms like some kind of mean bodyguard.

"No problem, I don't mind", the girl replied, casually waving towards the drawings.

In her ordinary clothes it was difficult to believe that this girl was partly responsible for these scary scribbles. Right now there just stood an ordinary girl going to middle-school in front of Nina, not the habit-wearing witch-in-making she had met two days ago.

"You look a bit distressed?", Nina observed with a frown.

"Well... I'm just a bit in a hurry", Sarah replied sheepishly. "I have to assume the fighting has begun..."

"It certainly has", Nina replied gravely, pictures of Lea's previous fights flashing up in her mind. "How do you know?"

The girl grimaced.

"They thrashed my school."

"Ouch...", Nina commented. "Who?"

"No idea", Sarah shrugged. "But it were likely Heroic Spirits. I managed to get a glimpse at our sports field and it looked like a hurricane went through."

"When did it happen?", Lancer suddenly asked.

Sarah looked up at the Servant in the background. Her irritated face betrayed that she was still sore about not having been able to claim Lancer herself.

"I haven't heard anything yet. Apparently it happened yesterday, but sorry, I don't know more."

Lea didn't reply. But instead she just nodded, giving a mischievous smile.

 _Does she know something I don't know?_

"Well anyway, I am glad you came", Nina said after a little pause.

For lack of any suitable accommodations she had to offer her a seat on the lower steps of the stairs. Nina herself sat down there herself, waving towards the empty space next to her. Sarah hesitated a bit, but at last put down her bag and sat down. She opened it and took out a small book with a leather binding. The cover had neither any writing nor any illustrations, it was bare of any information regarding its content. And yet Nina gulped at the sight of it.

"This is it. The book that silver-haired woman gave to us", Sarah explained.

After the first shock of Lancer's summoning had settled, Nina tried to ask the kids as many questions as possible. But since most of them were still rather freaked out about it how their ritual turned out, so most of them took their battered friend and went home. Only Sarah, the girl who tried to attack Nick, remained long enough for Nina to catch her on the way out. Still being confused about the whole mess, Nina riddled her with questions. And for some she even got answers. Apparently these kids were members of an occult club that dabbled in some black magic. Nothing serious though, and they took offence at the notion of having something satanic to do. They insisted on only using medieval tomes written to summon angels and channel faith.

But it was also apparent that their occult magic was nothing more than a gag to spend their pastime, nothing of that ever really worked... at least until they got this book and things became real for once.

"A silver-haired woman?", Nina asked, glancing at the small book in Sarah's hands.

"Yeah... she approached us after she witnessed a ritual of ours two weeks ago", the girl said, answering Nina's suspicious look with an innocent one of her own. "Nothing unlawful, really! Just... a little blessing for an upcoming exam."

Nina frowned in amusement.

"Did it work?"

Sarah shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it sure was successful in drawing her attention. She entered the abandoned playground we were using, applauded us and gave us this spellbook."

"Why should she do that?", Lea asked.

While the two were talking, Lancer prowled restlessly through the entrance hall.

"I admit we never really asked. We were glad enough to be met with so much understanding. And yet...", she hesitated.

"Yet what?"

"This woman... she was strange, no matter how you look at it. Not only her hair. Not only her eyes... red ones like Lancer's... She talked about how wonderful our magic is and yet she looked sad..."

Lea seemed confused about that notion. Nina not.

"You found the ritual to summon Lancer in there?", she asked.

"Yes", was the concise answer.

 _It was a trap... she wanted them to summon Lancer and participate in the battle..._

It seemed too cruel a plan to think of. These were children and yet this someone thought it would be a good idea to throw them into a battle to the death.

"Can I?", Nina asked, waving towards the book.

"No problem. I guess you'll need it more than I do at the moment. But I want it back after you won!", Sarah held the book out for her to take.

That brought a smile to her lips.

"Are you that sure of my victory?", she laughed while taking it.

"After you snatched Lancer away from us, you better make up for it!", Sarah groaned.

Nodding in agreement Nina leafed through the pages. There were a lot of detailed illustrations, but the writing was most interesting. The explanations and chants were carefully handwritten. In many ways it seemed odd and old-fashioned, Nina wouldn't be surprised to find out it was written with a quill. Going through the pages she saw that more than half of the small thing was dedicated to the summoning of a Heroic Spirit, explaining what could be used as 'catalyst' and what the meaning of the steps in the ritual were. The rest of it was about some other magic tricks like the offensive spell Sarah had used on Nick.

 _The intention seems clear. Everything in here looks like preparations to summon Lancer._

"I think I'd like to speak a few words to that woman...", Nina growled.

"Good luck with that, we had a tough time trying to find her afterwards", Sarah explained. "Nobody in that neighbourhood knew a woman of her description. You might think such a person would draw attention to herself."

"Then she was not from Einzbern", Lea observed.

Sarah nodded.

"We assumed as much."

"Thanks a lot for the book. Don't worry, Sarah. I'll make good use of it and give it back as soon as this Grail War thing is over."

She continued looking through the pages in the vain hope to find a few hints about their author or at least to find something helpful for how to defend against a proper mage. But of course there wasn't. There were a couple of offensive spells, but they were hideously complicated (despite the text's claim to the opposite) and Nina suspected the author intended the reader to be soothed into false confidence.

 _There is no denying whoever wrote this knew this subject well. If these kids had faced her, they surely would have died._

She was still reading when the sound of a car was audible from the outside. While Lea paid no mind, Sarah looked up warily.

"Who is that?", she asked.

Nina looked at her wristwatch. It was already late enough.

"Oh, just one of the boys. We were meeting up here to bring the clubhouse into shape."

"I see", Sarah said, jumping up and buckling her bag again. "I guess I better take my leave."

"You don't have to", Nina replied soothingly. "I don't think anyone would mind you."

"No thanks, I really don't need stay any longer. Bye then... we will see us when things have settled down a bit."

And with that she left. Nina and Lea followed her outside, but they were only able to watch her taking her bike and leave.

 _I guess even her trust has its limit... I guess we didn't really make that much of a good first impression after all._

She looked back at the book in her hand. Even if she didn't trust the club, she trusted her at least. The book was proof of it. She went towards her bike that stood idly on the yard and hid it in a saddlebag for the time being. She would have more than enough time for further studies later at home. Right now she had to deal with the white van that had entered shortly before. It was decorated with the name of the painting company Martin worked for.

"Hello, great to see you!", she called out, giving him a friendly hug as a greeting.

Lancer remained behind, being courteous enough but kept her distance.

"I'm glad you still showed up, even after the shit that went up yesterday", Nina admitted her doubts, especially since he was among those who ran into the police.

"Ah, no harm done. I think the cops are still having a headache from imagining what could really do so much damage..."

Nina nodded in relieve, all the while looking back towards Lea. She gave her a smug look that had written 'told you so' across her face. Not worrying further about things outside of her influence, Nina followed him towards the rear of the van. There the Vipers-member opened the rear doors to present his cargo. It was half filled with industrial sized cans of white paint as well as large mats made of felt which were splattered with the remnants of decades of usage.

"It's all there. The material we need and somewhere buried beneath are tools and overalls for everyone. Well, there are more coming, are they?"

"They are", Nina insisted, now with more confidence.

"Great. Well my boss agreed to give you special service", Martin explained. "The club only has to pay for the resources, not the manpower. It's a day off for me, you see."

She had to grin about that.

"I don't even know how to thank you. You saved me a lot of trouble with our club treasure. Getting a professional for a job without ruining us..."

"Who says you hired a professional? I show you guys how you do it without embarrassing yourselves and then I enjoy the view with a drink in hand", he gave her a toothy smile.

"Fine, then I hope you are at least more competent as a teacher than you are as a biker!", she turned towards Lea, still chuckling. "Come, let's start getting this stuff inside. We are going to need as much of the daytime as possible."

Lancer was a bit reluctant, but once Nina took one of the mats, she quickly joined them in the carrying business. Of course she was worth an army of ordinary people, even though the cumbersomeness of the cans slowed her down. Well, either that or she didn't bother enough to actually put any effort into the task. So while they were still at it, more and more of the other bikers arrived and joined their struggles. And it weren't only the bikers themselves. Even though the mother organization of the Vipers wasn't enforcing any kind of gender discrimination in its recruitment policy (much unlike a few other groups Nina was aware of), they were still far away from attracting a large number of female members. Fortunately Lea was hell-bent on changing that. As reply to this Nina proposed they could start by encouraging the members to bring their partners to group activities as a means to forge a stronger bond. Some the guys were reluctant, especially when the first common activity should be the decoration of the club house. And yet many seem to have heeded her advise, Nina was able to greet many unfamiliar faces.

Soon enough the ground level was properly outfitted with the mats. Martin gave his instructions where necessary, but otherwise did his best to paint over the biggest walls with a speed Nina could only dream of. He even left Lea behind, who proved that superhuman strength and agility are by all means no guarantee for fine-motor work. She especially lacked the patience to properly wipe the brayer at the grating. A flaw Nina pointed out over and over again, but the Amazon didn't listen. At least until she tried to tackle the ceiling, causing her face and precious black hair to be showered with a rain of white paint. Lancer shot the chuckling Nina a murderous look afterwards...

That way however they made good progress. The hours passed in the blink of an eye, soon enough they were moving to the second floor with all the mats and their equipment and everything. They managed to make dozens of those freaky scribbles disappear before Martin took Nina to the side.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I've been thinking...", he said in an unusually serious tone.

"Try not to get a headache", Nina quipped, trying to take the tension out of him, but he just grimaced.

"I'm serious here. I have seen with my own eyes what this Lancer woman could do and didn't you guys tell me she came out of one of these crazy circles here?"

"It was right over there, actually...", Nina pointed towards on of the mats behind Martin, on the floor beneath it the circle had been the day before. "First thing we did that afternoon was erasing together with those kids. Just in case..."

Martin scratched the back of his head.

"Yes, you have successfully erased that one, I see, but...", he sighed. "You know, the other ones are still around. Beneath the paint, completely untouched."

"What do you mean?", Nina frowned.

"I'm just a bit concerned we could say the wrong words and one day something nastier than Lancer comes crashing out of one of these walls."

Nina grimaced. Sarah had assured her that they used most of these for painfully mundane tasks and she couldn't help but think that Sarah herself was far from being an expert witch.

"These are sprayed, buying chemicals to erase them is outside of our budget...", Nina pondered aloud. "But I can tell you, the only summoning circle in the book they were using was that for Lancer. Outside of stuff in the book nothing had really ever worked for them."

He crossed his arms.

"I see..."

When they returned to the others, the second floor was basically finished. Nina was glad about at least so much. They had brought the inside of the building back into shape and still had roughly an hour of daylight left. Now she only hoped that Lea was able to keep attacking Servants outside, so that all their work won't end up buried under a pile of rubble.

"Great job, everyone!", Nina announced grinning. "Let's tidy everything up, so that the party can start."

'Tidying up' meant not only to bring all the equipment back into Martin's van, it also meant scrubbing the floors. As careful as they were with covering everything up with mats and tape, they were still some places they missed. Well, there was that and that the entire building was in dire need of a thorough cleaning anyway.

"For what do you take me?", Lancer glared at her when Nina asked why she just stood at the side, watching everyone hurrying around with a bored face.

"Uh... I took you for a teamplayer, that's why I asked", Nina replied with a frown.

"I am a warrior, not a lowly servant...", she groaned with a lowered voice so that the others won't hear her.

"Oh come, everyone helps... and with you at our side we are finished in no time. Think about the barbecue!"

For a second Nina thought about using the promise of a sausage to goad her into helping out, but she immediately abandoned the idea thinking that while Lea acted unusually childish, she was still an adult after all.

"Are you afraid to make your hands dirty?", she asked after her first attempt brought no reaction, Lancer even averted her eyes.

"No... I have no qualms about manual labour, I thought my work here is proof enough for you, Master."

"It is...", Nina admitted, still waiting for an answer.

Lancer sighed.

"Cleaning is men's work...", Lancer admitted.

It took Nina a few seconds to process that.

"What?", she asked aghast.

"It is not a job for a warrior..."

Nina put her hands into her sides, observing Lea's pained expression with slight amusement.

"You're kidding me, right? I mean, come on! Look how everyone here works together! This is our clubhouse, it is our little project. Don't make yourself sound like... some kind of chauvinist... just... against men... whatever you call that anyways."

Lea scratched the back of her head.

"I see your point. You are sisters and brothers in arms, you share all burdens together."

"Right...", Nina applauded eagerly.

"I am sorry, I... this future confuses me sometimes. I will try to be open-minded towards your group. As open-minded as you are about my culture."

Nina nodded, setting up her most diplomatic smile. Lancer still didn't move. After a small silence, Nina realized the mop in her hand. She nudged it forward, offering Lancer to take it. Sighing and resigning, she finally took it. Work continued thereafter. Lancer helped out, begrudgingly, but she did. And shortly after darkness had set in, everything was finished. All of the members and helpers gathered in the yard for the final celebration.

One of the boys had donated a large barbecue grill, an old model, but it was so large it looked like it was taken out from some mobile fast food stall. Others had brought beer, sausages, meatballs, steaks and bread rolls. Another one of the boys even brought a sound system, allowing them to have some music to liven everything up. Unfortunately they had no benches or chairs, something that stood right on top of Nina's list, but even while standing or sitting on the ground they found relieve from the hard day's work. The chilly night's air was nourishment enough for their aching limbs. And yet these aches were of the good sort, of the one that had 'good work' written all over it. There were many proud smiles, many content faces. Even among those still unknown to Nina. The teamwork really helped to build bridges, so she hoped these would last long enough to bring all these new and friendly faces into the club. After her aching legs had recovered a bit, Nina raised herself up, clacking two beer bottles against each other to get their attention. The chatting seized slowly and dozens of eyes rose to meet hers.

"I thank you all, people. Really. In just one day, we, as a club, as a team, have accomplished so much. Be proud of your work! And remind yourself that this is your blood and sweat in these walls whenever you wander through the halls of our clubhouse. It is ours now and will ever be!", she gave them a cheery salute with her bottle. "Let's drink to our achievement! This is the first day of a new, reformed club!"

A wave of cheers answered hers.

"We still need a new name though", a single voice rose among the others, Nina saw it belonged to Martin. "'Vipers' was Nick's idea. But this is not Nick's chapter anymore."

 _He is right..._

A wave of guilt washed over her. There was so much to do in the last few days, she totally forgot that. And now her non-existent creativity left her speechless. She knew she had to say something, suddenly aware of the imploring looks. Looking for a way to escape, she found Lea standing idly to her left. A cruel idea passed her mind and stayed there.

"Why don't we ask the one who made this all possible?", she offered Lancer her place.

The Amazon looked up at this gesture, making a morose face. She drew circles in the air with the half-emptied beer bottle in her end, looking like she was still weighing whether to drink it or to put it away.

"I have done nothing worthwhile, this is your effort alone" , Lea said evasively.

"Don't be silly, I would have never managed it without your guidance. Come on, give us a bit more of your wisdom!", Nina urged.

"I'm sorry, Master, I am not good with words..."

"Me neither. Just do it! Say some words to all those who have witnessed your fights and those who haven't."

Lancer sighed, but stepped forward regardless.

"Fine then...", she then raised her voice. "You know that I come from a long forgotten age, from a long forgotten people. And now it pains me to see, what we are seen as, what we have become in the minds of those who came after us. We were the Amazons. An actual people consisting of actual humans. We had a civilization, we had our cities, we had our gods and our festivals."

She looked down at the bottle in her hand again as if she didn't know where to put it, before facing her audience again.

"And now we have become a vague legend. No. Worse still, we have become a ghost story told by craven old men who wanted to instil fear in the hearts of their fellow men of what would happen if they don't chain their wives to the hearths. Tales of mad warriors mutilating their own breasts for no gain whatsoever. Tales of enslaved men, even tales of a people slaying male newborns... All preposterous nonsense! Lies and forgeries to mock a fallen civilization! We were a kingdom that offered a place for everyone, a place where everyone had the option to prosper. And yet... and yet..."

Her voice was turned bitter with anger, but she swallowed it down and her features became more soft again.

"Today you reminded me that not all men behave like this... and that not all women believe their lies. We worked together here, as one unit. Regardless of rank and gender, we made this fortress of yours happen. Your comradeship is truly inspiring and should be the one trait you need to cultivate at all costs. Regarding a name, though... I am in no position to put these efforts into words which do justice to your achievement."

Apart from the dimmed sound of the sound station, everything was silent. Whether they were thinking about her praise or still a bit awestruck about her emotional outbreak, Nina couldn't tell.

"Why not 'Amazons' then? Not the ones of the myths, but the true ones!", a voice proposed.

It was one of the women who came due to Nina's and Lancer's offer. One of these unknown faces she had hoped to keep in the club.

"Nah, nobody would get that!", one of the boys replied. "We are not an all-girls club after all."

"We would get the reference! Isn't this enough?", she was able to make him silent again.

Nina herself was still not quite convinced... He was right, the word had gained a connotation that doesn't quite fit their club... and yet she thought that they could turn this on its head.

 _A first step to retrack the original meaning of the word? Is that even possible?_

"How about 'True Amazons' then?", another voice called out. "We might need to stitch larger insignia's, but then everybody would know that we have our own meaning of the word."

Lancer stared at him in disbelief. It was Martin.

"I... I would feel honored... honored to know that you want to revive our heritage", her voice was nearly a whisper, but for the first time Nina saw a completely genuine smile on her face, reminding her how beautiful she was after all.

There was still a lot of discussion thereafter, but it in the end they voted through raised hands... and thus "True Amazons" became the name of the Einzbern chapter.

A few hours later Nina and Lea were back at the apartment. While the Servant looked no worse than at noon, Nina was completely exhausted and heedlessly threw herself onto her bed. Being back in the warmth of her home, the coldness of the night fled her body and made each and every muscle remember the work they had done this day.

"I'm burning alive", Nina growled into her pillow.

"It wouldn't be so hard if you trained you body more. If you wish so, I can train you at arms", Lancer replied.

Nina looked up at her with dark eyes. Regarding her current attitude towards every kind of further exercises, she didn't feel able to tell whether the offer was genuine or meant mockingly.

"I'll pass...", she replied, rolling herself onto her back and reaching out for the remote. "Let's just see what happened elsewhere in the world and call it a day."

After some struggle she managed to find it and switch on the TV. At this hour nothing worthwhile was to be found, so moving through a bunch of crappy channels she looked for something where there were news. When she finally found one, the letters on the screen hit her immobilized body like lightning.

 _Einzbern?_

Indeed this was her hometown in the news. And it wasn't a regional channel either, they were in the country-wide news. Even Lancer tensed when the newsreader reported some stuff about a collapsed bridge over Einzberner Ring caused by... a filming crew?

"Don't tell me...", she whispered.

And then came the video footage. The figures fighting on the road were nearly shapeless due to their immense speed and yet if you knew who it was, the implications came immediately. The figure on horseback was unknown to Nina, but the other one...

"Pharaoh guy!", Nina shouted out.

"It seems he already found his next enemy. Interesting...", Lea mused.

During the whole day Nina was able to forget why exactly Queen Penthesilea returned to Earth and stepped into her life. But fate seemed to be hell-bent to not allow her to rest. The Grail War continued. And it was only a matter of time for Lancer's next turn in this bloodstained game.

* * *

Author's notes: Heh, I am fairly sure there are several people out there smugly saying "Called it!". Now it is out, the identity for Lancer. I am no fan of hiding such a thing for a long time though. Fate/Zero didn't need that to generate a good story and I hope I don't either. So don't worry, the remaining participants won't stay a mystery for long. See you then!


	15. Chapter 14 - Simon

Chapter 14 - Simon

 **Schlossberg, 1944**

While Roza had seen her fair share of pinched battles, at the end of the day her profession was still the one of a sniper. And that one came with quite a lot of waiting. She was waiting between battles when her company was advancing through the edge of Eastern Prussia, but she was also waiting a lot in the battlefield itself. The first picture which presented itself to Simon this night showed Roza cowering in the snow, barely visible in her white camouflage battledress. It was early in the morning, the sun was slowly rising into the purple sky and the snow-covered fields around the drainage ditch she used for concealment were sparkling in the light. It could have been a beautiful scenery, if not for the murderous intent with which the Soviet sniper held her rifle. Through the scope she was watching a column of trees on the side of a small country road.

 _Weirdly enough, the most lonely task was the one I always felt the most important. Giving cover fire in a stalemate of a battle was dangerous to all involved, especially those I was tasked to keep an eye on. But assuming the role of a counter-sniper guarding our vanguard... feels a lot like being a lone explosives expert defusing a landmine. I only risked my own life and I knew that with every sniper I took out, I saved at least half a dozen lives._

Bang. After the sun had risen high enough to illuminate the treetops from behind, Roza felt assured enough to strike. Her shot echoed through the open field, slamming into the branches of one of these trees. Inside was something which looked like a snow-covered nest of an unusually large bird. But the corpse falling to the side belonged to a human. An enemy sniper who had set up position up there to harass everyone trying to use the road. At least until he made the mistake of not seeing Roza crouching into her position this night.

"One black...", Roza whispered darkly.

 _These snipers are dangerous, like me. But desperate as well. They must have known that their positions never allowed them to retreat. Harassing a large convoy on your own equalled suicide. Fortifying yourself in an abandoned village as well. You could take down numerous people if you were clever about it, but in the end you just make yourself more company in your own grave. The zampolit of our unit once told me they were fanatics... and I was inclined to believe him._

Roza waited another quarter of an hour for a reaction. But even after placing a dummy in the shape of her beret on a stick didn't make any other snipers show up, she declared the route for cleared and crouched back into safety. The scene changed. Yawning and with sleeping eyes Roza came out of the camouflaged command tent. Everything around her was busy, everyone was occupied with breaking camp. Roza herself just headed for the truck of her unit, desperately trying to stay awake until then.

"Hey, you are back already!", a voice called out to her.

"Already?", she turned towards its owner.

Misha jogged to her side, in his hands a steaming metal pot and two cups. Roughly furnished military standard, but it was enough to make her raise her eyebrows.

"What's this? Soup?"

"Better!", he told her with a grin, hastily filling one of the cups and giving it to her.

Roza sniffed at suspiciously, obviously taken aback.

"Coffee?"

Misha grimaced.

"Close enough. I don't know what it is, but the effect should be the same. At least according to the requisitions officer."

"Oh great", she stated with a bright smile, before she took a deep sip.

The taste seemed awfully bitter, but the warmth itself made her sigh in relieve.

"I have seen you returning to make your report", the Red Army soldier explained while she was enjoying her drink. "After you were out there all night I thought you needed some little refreshment."

"Carry on with stuff like this and I might marry you", Roza laughed, her spirits having returned the same instant.

"Hey, you keep the fascists off the backs of me and the other boys, something like this is the least I can do."

And with this he escorted Roza to her unit, all the way chatting about the most recent rumours in the battalion. Of course, their next moves in the offensive into Eastern Prussia was the top subject among the soldiers.

 _Fighting had become pretty severe. Now that it was their country we were invading, the fascists were keen on making us bleed for every inch we advanced. The morale of the troops was still wavering after the beating we got at Gumbinnen. And every death seemed so pointless in the long run..._

The picture faded with the two of them walking among trucks and armored vehicles.

"Good morning, Sergeant sleepy", the voice of Misha rang in the darkness.

Roza opened her eyes. Crouched down in a stack of hay, the young woman looked not quite as comfortable as she should have been after a night well rested. Groaning and stretching herself, she scanned her surroundings. The abandoned barn she and her unit had taken shelter in was now truly abandoned except for the people standing in front of her.

"Who let you in?", she mumbled groggily.

"Well, the only two people who have not already moved places", Kalya replied.

"Be glad we're too stuck here with the fascists having retaken Goldap, otherwise we would have left you behind right here", Sasha added.

"Wow, that's mean. I was stuck in enemy territory for two days due to an artillery strike blocking my retreat", Roza explained. "I need my sleep."

Misha laughed heartily.

"Sorry for that, but I needed to tell you that you have a visitor."

"What? Who?", rubbing her eyes, she heaved herself up to her feet.

"Oh the plights of our great heroes...", Sasha announced mockingly.

Roza sighed, she obviously knew in this instance who it was. Rearranging her creased uniform, the young soldier went on to leave the barn. Her companions fell in besides her.

"What's up with the roof, by the way", Misha began on the way out. "I feel kind of discriminated with my unit being forced to choose between cold snow and slippery mud as a foundation to put our tents up on."

"The advantage of being a female unit, I guess", Roza laughed.

"I think the commander believes the lock is also kind of helpful", Sasha added with a smirk.

 _The person I was escorted to stuck out quite a lot between the soldiers with his civilian garb and his large camera equipment. The young man was called Pyotr Molchanov and was a war correspondent whom I suspected to spend more time wandering the 3rd Belarussian Front than writing his reports._

Misha and the other two of the Vagrant Three politely made their departures when they approached the reporter, but not without Kalya encouragingly patting Roza's back.

"Good morning, Sergeant Shanina", he greeted her with a smile and a handshake.

"Good morning, Pyotr. What brings you down into the trenches again?"

"Your bright smile of course", he jested lightly. "Well, that and to hear more of your exploits."

Searching for a calmer spot where they weren't watched by her fellow men at arms, Roza led him and his equipment towards the encampments of a unit which was currently busy in an offensive.

"There is nothing special I have done, really", she said after they sat down.

"Nothing? Then I'm wondering why they are thinking about awarding you with the Order of Glory."

Roza grimaced morosely.

"There are others who deserved it far more, especially when I have failed so gravely."

The reporter frowned.

"Failed? I have read otherwise. How many Germans have you killed by now? Fifty-one, am I right?"

Roza looked down at her feet, shifting uneasily.

 _Fifty-four was it at this day._

"Even the western press loves you", Pyotr went on. "The canadians have written two articles about you. Heck, hasn't even Ilya Ehrenburg interviewed you recently? You are making quite a lot of people very happy. The motherland needs positive news like yours, I have to admit."

"Well, if that makes others happy, then I am happy too", she smiled warily. "Even though I have to admit that Ehrenburg was a bit... how shall I put it?"

"Zealous?", he finished with a grimace.

"Uh, yeah..."

 _It's not like I didn't hate the fascists myself, but I couldn't help but notice his angry eyes whenever I mentioned the three captives I made during the fight he was asking me about. Showing mercy seemed to be a sore spot for this man._

Pyotr put out his pocket book, starting to make his first notes.

"What can you tell me about the events of the 26th October?"

"You are asking me about Aseyev, aren't you?", Roza asked right back.

He seemed a little ashamed, scratching his neck and grimacing.

"So obvious, eh? Don't judge me too harshly. He was a Hero of the Soviet Union after all. I can't deny I hoped you would drop a few hints of his last heroic deeds among your own tales of valour."

The atmosphere had changed quite a bit in the few minutes they had talked with each other. Roza had been sleepy, but initially showed her usual cheery nature. Talking about a boy whose death she had witnessed was a sure way to dampen the mood.

"I'm afraid there is nothing heroic in dieing", Roza said evasively. "Much the opposite. I am sure if he lived, he could tell you of the heroic deeds he committed after the 26th October."

"A nice fantasy, but in a reality as harsh as ours we need heroes who inspire the nation both in life and in death", Pyotr's words were cynical, but his expression was one of sincere thoughtfulness.

"So that's what you want to make out of me? A hero?", she gave a dark chuckle.

"What is wrong with that? See it as some kind of immortality."

The thought seemed so absurd, Roza couldn't hide her amusement. She was just about to retort something mean when her name was shouted from afar.

"Sergeant Shanina?", it was the adjutant of general Gorodovikov.

"Yeah, right here!", she called out, standing up.

"The general needs a few words with you, Ma'am. It's about a mission inside the city."

She made an apologetic gesture towards the reporter, but couldn't really hide her relieve either.

 _A couple of months ago I couldn't have thought to ever thank this man for anything. Well, times changed... at least the severity of our situation made him rethink his opinion regarding holding back his snipers._

"A mission for her unit?", Pyotr asked, obviously clinging to the vain hope that they could resume their talk after the meeting.

"No, just the Sergeant", the adjutant then shattered this hope.

The reporter frowned when Roza went towards the adjutant.

"Can't you send someone? Weren't you a platoon leader?"

"I still am", Roza turned back to him, laughing. "It's just a sniper platoon after all. We're lonely creatures by nature. And the girls can choose their targets on their own, they don't need me for it!"

And with these words she walked off, only to arrive at the command tent a couple of minutes later. The heap of maps on the central table indicated that Roza had entered shortly after a meeting of a lot of the important heads of this part of the front.

"General", she straightened her back, standing at attention.

"Ah, Sergeant Shanina", Gorodovikov said, bending over these maps with a serious expression. "I am glad you came so quickly. There is a crucial little job I hoped you could take care of."

"I am at your service, Sir."

He motioned her to get closer to the table. Nodding in understanding, Roza approached the maps and observed them herself. The general pointed at a central plaza bordering to the pacified territory they held themselves.

"The area around the church is held by a particularly nasty member of your kind. He was able to block the advance of an entire section. He specifically took out two snipers I had already tasked with taking him out."

"Another desperate straggler?", Roza asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, but one with teeth. I can't allow him to hinder us any further. I expect you to succeed without fail. After all you are my best ma-", he paused, unable to hide a chuckle. "You are my best shot, Sergeant."

"I won't let you down", she said immediately.

"Good. Dismissed!"

It was a short conversation and yet it was a pretty fitting example of how things had changed. From now on, everyone was fighting, regardless the gender. Nobody would have dared to say anymore that the 1st sniper platoon was only deployed for publicity reasons.

Half an hour later Roza was already crouching through the battle zone. Inside the city itself rarely a pile of snow was left, but among the dusty stone rabble her white camouflage uniform didn't stick out as much as one might have assumed. Even from afar, the church dominated the view, therefore she approached it as carefully as possible, assuming this was where her opponent was waiting for his own prey.

 _In hindsight, these duels were some kind of deadly game. With the only rule being outwitting the enemy with all you've got._

Roza entered a collapsed building through the backdoor. The front side was pretty much totally destroyed, but a couple of window frames were steadfastly holding their ground amidst the bombed rubble. It was poor cover, but the best she was able to get without exposing herself when advancing towards some of the buildings closer to the church. Carefully Roza placed her looking glass into the edge of the frame, allowing herself to observe the church with minimum risk.

 _It was beyond me why our troops weren't able to demolish the building in the first place, but I had to assume our heavy hitters were occupied elsewhere. From afar it looked like there were two rifles sticking out of the tower. Dummies, obviously. Nobody would be daring enough to expose himself like this the entire day. The only remaining question was, whether the enemy used these rifles to switch places or hides somewhere else entirely._

She moved the lens, now observing the more intact buildings. She never saw a human himself, but she saw something reflecting the sunlight.

 _With all the windows shattered by bombings and heavy fighting, it couldn't have been broken glass. No... this reflection had a round shape. It was very likely to be a looking glass like the one I was using._

Realizing where her enemy was, Roza carefully took her rifle from her shoulder and put it forward onto the ruined frame. Bending her head to look through the scope, she realized that the looking glass leaning in the edge of the building had no owner. Nobody was currently using it.

 _Of course, there was still the possibility that there were two snipers after all._

Holding her breath, Roza leaned to the left, now pointing with the rifle at the church building. One of the rifles had moved. Now it was pointing to her direction.

"Damn...", Roza cursed, lowering her head to offer less of a target.

The same instance, a gunshot rang through the empty place. Roza gritted her teeth when a bullet slammed into bricks which were her cover, ricocheting up into the air. The stone shattered and a small cloud of dusk and debris was thrown into the air and towards her shoulder.

 _It was a close one. So close in fact, it felt like somebody was scalding my shoulder with a hot iron._

And yet her aim never faltered. She just needed this precious second to adjust to wind and distance. With her eyes narrowing, she pulled the trigger. And even without watching whether she hit or missed, Roza leaned to the other side, immediately watching the building with the looking glass. And very much like she had guessed, a lone soldier came stumbling toward the window. In the same motion Roza had already ejected her cartridge casing. She wouldn't give that one the same advantage she had given the other one. A third bang rang through the air and Roza saw her victim tumbling to the ground. Taking a deep breath, she calmed down. If she hadn't gotten the other one, she would surely have been under even more fire, but the area remained silent.

"Two black", the Unseen Terror whispered.

And with this, she returned to the camp. She wasted no time, now that she was familiar with the area, she was able to take a short-cut. So when she arrived at the Soviet position, the thrill of the battle and her fast walking pace kept her adrenaline level high. That's why she must have been so high-spirited when she walked Misha on the way towards the command tent. He was shouldering his own rifle and was in the company of a couple of other soldiers. He was so concentrated on a discussion, one of his companions needed to point out that Roza was approaching them with a smile.

"Hello there, why the commotion?", she asked.

"Oh, we have just heard that we're moving out tomorrow mor-", he turned towards her, but his expression turned from casualness to worry in the same instance he lay his eyes upon her. "Whoa, everything okay with you?"

Roza frowned in confusion.

"What shouldn't be okay? I came just back from a mission, that's all."

Misha didn't reply, he just pointed at her right shoulder, his seriousness was creeping her out. Roza followed his finger, but when she moved her head downward, a stabbing pain made her pause for a second. She forced herself to look at it regardless. And indeed, her white uniform had taken some damage.

 _In this mad instance, my first worry was that the stains ruined my camouflage..._

The fabric of her entire right shoulder was drenched in red, the warm liquid having oozed out of a tiny circle-shaped hole at the same position where she had felt the scalding pain earlier.

"Oh...", was everything she brought out. "It's... it's not as bad as it looks, actually."

"You're kidding, right?"

Roza shook her head, the motion itself made her grimace in pain, her head spinning.

"I... I need to report my success, I should go to the general, I..."

"Stop talking nonsense, Roza. Come, I'll get you to a medic.", he offered her his arm for support.

She saw his point, but she was refusing to be walked around nevertheless.

"No, no, I can walk on my own. I will go there at once", she started to walk away, but now with the adrenaline subsiding, her head began to spin and her legs started to turn wobbly.

Misha never heeded her protests, he accompanied her regardless. And when she threatened to fall, he caught her under her good left arm and became her crutch for the rest of the way.

 _The shot had passed clean through, the medic insisted on operating immediately._

Roza had been moved to one of the buildings at the edge of town, crowded with moaning wounded in varying states of lethality and doctors and nurses rushing through them.

"You will need to stay here for roughly a week, so that we can see whether the wound heals or not", the doctor caring for her explained before walking off to gather his equipment.

"I can't, I can't", Roza gave the reply to Misha, who stood watch at the makeshift bed she had been allocated to. "Who will watch the back of you and the others?"

"We will be fine", Misha insisted. "We have Kalya and Sasha and all the others of your unit. They know their job, trust them. We will be back even before you get released."

She nodded weakly.

"You will come right away, right?"

"Of course!", he looked up, the doctor was returning. "I'll see you then, okay?"

With these words he left her in the care of the doctors and nurses.

 _And again, I believed him. I endured the operation and waited the next days, itching for the doctor to tell me that I am released and can return to my unit. Days passed. And throughout each of them I also kept my ears open for the return of Misha's division. It seemed they were involved in some trouble and their return to the main front got delayed several times. In the end, it was said they would return on the day I got to leave the military hospital._

At the promised day of her leave, looking out for the returning units was the first thing she did. With the bandage hidden beneath her uniform, she was walking through the deserted looking campsite. It was a gloomy atmosphere. The sky was grey, like it always was in these winter months. And the few soldiers who lingered at the camp and were not on guard duty looked kind of moody. Apparently the moral hadn't improved in these last few days.

"Sergeant Shanina!", a voice called out.

It was Pyotr, the reporter. He seemed to have waited for his interview all this time. Either that or he found another victim for the meantime. Roza forced herself to smile.

"Good morning. It seems you are here again", she said.

"I was never away. The doctor just didn't allow me to see you. It seems I made myself look like a bother. Anyway, I am glad to see you back in good shape and high spirits. It was shocking to hear that someone actually managed to injure the hero of this division."

"It was just a grazing wound, you don't need to worry", Roza assured him.

There was no way the reporter wouldn't notice how distracted she looked like. She was trying hard not to sound too dismissive in her impatience.

"Good news then", he chirped. "You will return to the battlefield immediately or do you have a few minutes to resume our little interview?"

"Uh... I'm deeply sorry. Maybe later, but I'm currently a little occupied with-"

There was some minor clamor at an entryway to the camp. From afar Roza saw several armored vehicles entering in a column. Between the transports several units of Red Army soldiers shuffled forward afoot.

"Excuse me for a moment", she said before dashing off.

"Sure...", Pyotr said behind her, his own voice somewhere between confusion and worry.

Roza slowed down to a jog when she arrived at the column, starting to walk besides the incoming soldiers into the opposite direction. Her searching face made it clear that she knew nobody among these sorry guys. Wherever they came from, they surely returned form hell. Their boots were walked through, their uniforms ragged and some even lacked their rifles. From inside the armored trucks she heard dimmed moaning voices, making her dread the thought that Misha could have been sent to the military hospital the same day she left it.

"Ah!", she called out, her mood instantly brightened.

She was now seeing people whose faces were not unknown to her. Some of the soldiers, even though likely just those who knew her by reputation, dipped their heads as she passed them. It didn't take her long to spot soldiers of Misha's unit.

 _Considering the time I've spend with him and the boys I could say I knew them quite well and they knew me. I was not an unusual sight among their unit, but especially due to this I expected them to recognize and greet me._

Instead they passed her with hanging heads, seemingly not having seen her. When she turned around to join them, she realized how small the group looked like. Last time she had checked, they had a strength only a bit below a hundred, but here she saw only a few dozen ragged creatures.

"Hello guys!", she called out amiably, her smile only faltering slightly as the raising heads observed her with suspicious expressions.

"Good morning, Sergeant", one of the boys replied, averting her eyes. "I believe I know why you're here."

Roza sighed. She knew how hard it was to deal with losses and she didn't want to be a bother to them. And yet she had to ask or otherwise the burning hot feeling of dread creeping up her bowels would never give rest. So with her smile vanishing and taking on a serious expression, she forced herself to ask her question.

"Where is he?", she said.

The soldier now looked into her face, his grey eyes empty and weary. He never replied. He just shook his head and resumed his march. Roza was left behind. Immediately realizing what had happened, her heart plummeted to the ground. With every strength having left her legs, all she could do was standing there, watching the silent procession shuffling onward. They didn't even look like returning soldiers anymore. They looked like a funeral. Only after several seconds Roza realized that her cheeks were wet and warm. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the tears glistening in the sun with astonishment.

 _And here I thought I had already spent all of them..._

After they had dried, Roza slowly returned to the reporter, who had watched the scene from a distance.

"I... I am sorry for your loss", he said a bit sheepishly.

"Thanks", she appreciated his sincerity with a faint smile. "I've thought about your earlier words. That you want to make me immortal."

"Uh, yeah... I guess I said something like this...", he admitted.

Roza's smile turned into bitter mockery.

"What good is immortality if you can't protect the ones you love?"

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Waking up drenched in his own sweat seemed to have become the norm for Simon. It was day number three after the bright natured war veteran had stumbled into his life. And with every new vision of her short life, he further wondered how many of her quick smiles were just covering the jaded person underneath. He never doubted her strength, but he thought that everyone had his limits.

 _Come to think of it, even those of her friends who survived the war are likely dead by now. But if they aren't..._

He had already planned to make her stay in the present world as comfortable as possible, but never before he thought that there are still people out there who knew her personally. For a few mad seconds Simon thought about trying to find out their whereabouts.

 _Maybe the rest of the Vagrant Three are still somewhere out there. But even if I find them, there is no way we can contact them. They will think this is a mean prank. Nobody would believe us that their best friend has risen from her grave._

Shaking the thought out of his head, Simon peeled himself out of the sleeping bag and looked around. Roza had already left his room, likely to join the others. Simon himself didn't need to think much where to go. He went to the bathroom, changing his bandages and preparing himself for a new day of defusing magic circles.

 _At least not one of the wounds has become infected. I guess I can get rid of the bandages tomorrow._

After he finished his shower he went to the common room. It seemed like he was the last to arrive there. Hendrik sat on the dinner table working at his laptop, Alexandra was busy in the kitchen brewing coffee and even Tobias had finally returned, standing near the table and chatting with Roza. After saying his greetings into the room, he joined Alexandra at the kitchen.

"Can I join in at the coffee?", he asked.

"Sure, I've made enough", she replied, frowning at him. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Too much sleep actually", Simon answered sheepishly.

 _And too many dreams..._

She observed him with a dubious expression, at least before she turned to grab two cups and poured the coffee into them. Taking her own sip, she leaned against the cupboard and watched the common room.

"Tobias and Roza sure get along well", Alexandra said with narrowed eyes.

"Seems so", he blew at his coffee and took a sip as well.

The shower had already brought him back among the living, but he needed this addition to feel fully awake.

"Come on, you know how Tobias is. Don't you feel the need to step in?", she teased with a vicious smile.

"Why should I?", he sensed she was trying to mock him, but he had trouble understanding why.

 _Oh..._ , he realized suddenly, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

"What a mature reaction. You are quite sure of your relationship, aren't you?"

Simon sighed. The whole charade did nothing but stress him out.

"I just think she can handle him herself", he assured her.

 _She has faced the Nazis, I guess she can take the possible advances of a sleazeball._

"Shall I help you set the table?", he said casually.

"Sure, why not. Better start by sweep Hendrik out of the way."

"On it!"

Hendrik complained a little about having to finish his work, but at the end Simon managed to make him join. After days of absence from Tobias it should have been obvious that he was needed as well, but apparently he was too focused on his discussion with Roza to pay attention.

„Let me guess, you haven't even seen any of the nightlife in the city, haven't you?", he overheard Tobias say.

"Not really, exploring Einzbern takes up more than enough of my time", Roza replied.

"Oh, come on. I knew Simon as a city-person for whatever reason finds this refreshing. But you can't tell me you find this sorry village that impressive. I thought you came from the country yourself. Don't you want to see something more lively? There are a lot of clubs I can show you and bars I frequent."

Simon heard how Roza took pause at this.

"Bars? You want to offer me a drink or something?", Tobias seemed oblivious, but Simon immediately detected the suspicion in her voice. Either that, or his imagination was fooling him.

"Sure. Nothing wrong with a good drink after a hard workday."

"You do that often?"

"Well, not so much during lectures. But on the weekends... sure, we don't have the endurance of your people, but sure can have our fun."

 _Uh, bad move_ , Simon thought slightly amused while bringing out the dishes.

"Endurance?", she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Uh, ah... I mean... you're from the birthing place of Vodka after all. No offence, of course. I... guess it is not your drink, then..."

"Not really, no. And while I appreciate the attention, I sincerely hope you don't belong to the hooligans we were always warned of in the youth club. I also sincerely hope you don't take me for one."

Tobias gulped.

"No, of course not", he scratched his head nervously. "We are just a bunch of people having fun. It's not like we are harming anyone..."

"Well, then thank you for the invitation, but I have to decline regardless", she reverted back into her usual cheery self with a beaming smile. "Shall we help the others?"

"O...kay..."

Not even a minute later, the whole group was seated and enjoyed breakfast. The first awkward chats soon moved to the topic of their studies again.

"I totally forgot to ask yesterday. And? How went Electrical Engineering?", Simon asked Alexandra.

"Oh, so-so. The cheat-sheet was helpful, but some of the questions were hairy. I count with something average like usual."

 _She never sets her hopes up, afraid of being disappointed._

"So that was your last exam, wasn't it?"

"Yep, now I'm free for all the mischief in the world", she smirked in jest. "Hey, come to think of it... didn't we want to go to the cinema, Roza?"

Roza seemed a little surprised that she remembered the promise. Looking up from her plate, she at first just blinked at her.

"Ah, yes. You mentioned something that you're free to go after your exams. With that, you mean... today?"

"Why not?", Alexandra asked back. "I have nothing to do and want to inaugurate my lecture free time. So I am going to go either way. Especially since it won't be crowded in the middle of the week."

Assassin looked at Simon, grimacing slightly.

"I'm not sure I have the time for this...", she said with a pained expression.

Even before Simon was able to say something, Tobias interjected.

"Don't tell me you need Simon's permission to go!"

"It's not that, we're just caught up in... things", she defended herself, but she obviously seemed to grieve the opportunity.

"Nah, it's not that important after all", Simon objected. "Don't be shy. Just have fun!"

"You are sure this is okay?"

"Of course. It's not like, uh, 'business' is going to run away any time soon."

If he could speak freely, he might have admitted that he wasn't eager to get involved into a fight at all. Somewhere deep inside he even harbored the faint hope that defusing all the magic circles was enough to completely prevent any confrontation. Of course they needed to deal with the one responsible for the whole mess and of course there was still that kid with the pharaoh roaming the town. But by preventing any more combatants to join the melee, maybe the whole Grail business would just collapse.

"Hey, why don't we all just go together?", Alexandra then proposed. "It's going to be fun!"

Simon shrugged and nodded. Unable to defuse these circles on his own, he needed something to do either way. And due to the enemy creeping around, he would have been forced to spend his time in some crowded part of town if he decided not to stick to Roza.

"Well, I have no objections", he looked to his side where Hendrik sat.

He seemed a little worried.

"I still have my... ah, well, I don't mind. I tag along."

Now it was Tobias' turn to draw all the stares towards him.

"I'm not really in the mood, sorry. Just have your fun", he declined without thinking much.

With that, preparations for the day were set in motion. The 'Cinepalais', named after the ruined old castle in the woods, was chosen to be the destined location. Thereafter Alexandra suggested to go to a nearby café for a chat. And after a couple of leisurely hours of preparations the four of them left Tobias behind and went into the town. Simon appreciated the change of pace. He knew that running around Einzbern day after day would soon turn into boring routine. It could turn out to be a great way to strengthen their bonds instead... if there was not one tiny problem...

"Okay, which movie do we want to watch?", Hendrik asked upon entering the place.

It's not like something called 'palais' would actually turn out to be some polished elite theatre full of marble and columns or anything. It was just a small privately owned place, looking like a completely unremarkable square concrete block from the outside. It had only two screens, but among the population of Einzbern it had the sympathetic reputation of the little guy fighting against the huge cinema chains which were dominating the nearby city. They were successful enough to have two screens after all, so there was that. And of course the inside was actually quite neat. With a red-carpeted floor, the walls covered with posters and the snack bar with its horrendous prices looking well-stocked and smelling after sweetened popcorn. It was even surprisingly crowded, leaving Simon to wonder whether the children he saw didn't have school this day. But the only problem Simon saw immediately, was that their choice of movie on afternoon-time and with only two screens was severely limited. In addition to this, they had only access to either foreign movies which weren't reserved for the large chains or classics.

"I'm open for everything", Roza announced, scanning her surroundings with eager eyes.

"Just wait a little, I'm off to check what they are screening", Alexandra said before dashing off.

Together with Hendrik and Roza he watched her going, lingering in the foyer.

"And?", Hendrik smirked. "Is it really that different from the theatres you know?"

She grimaced slightly, obviously struggling with an answer both honest and less eccentric.

"It actually is. Two screens is quite impressive", her voice was high with praise, one that Hendrik could only frown upon.

"If you say so..."

 _Well, she is a country girl after all._

It didn't take long for Alexandra to return. She seemed still in high spirits, so Simon assumed they had something in store they had at least heard of before.

"It seems they are in the middle of a 'history week' with classics of the epic genre", she went right to the case. "Today they are screening 'Der Soldat James Ryan'"

While Hendrik was just nodding in acknowledgement, Simon needed a few seconds to realize the implications.

"You have to be kidding me...", he said softly, suppressing the urge to look at Roza's reaction.

"Is there a problem with it?", Alexandra asked with a frown.

"No, no. Not really, I just... don't think a war movie is all that appropriate."

He heard Roza chuckling next to him.

"You really think I can't stomach a little western propaganda?", she asked with a smirk on her lips.

"Well, that's not exactly it... It's a World War II movie after all."

"Some of my favorites are war movies. Don't worry about me."

 _Fine. I tried..._

Simon shrugged then, trying to ignore his doubts.

"So then it is decided", Alexandra announced. "I honestly have to admit, I don't know the movie. I just have heard of the hype back in the days. Guess that'll be interesting."

"I have only seen it on TV some time ago", Hendrik said. "It sure will be different on the big screen. Shall I buy the tickets? You guys are free to fight for the line in the snack department then."

They then gave him the money for their tickets and both he and Alexandra went off. Simon hesitated with following her and signaled Roza to do the same.

"You are really sure about this?", he asked when they were alone.

"Of course. And I don't know why you are so eager to dissuade me", she raised both hands in waving motion. "I know what war movies are like. I might have not seen one since... well, before graduating at the sniper academy, but I promise I will make no fun of it just because I have seen how war really looks like."

 _Wow, she truly thinks I'm afraid of her mocking the movie..._

"Whoa, that's not what I mean", he underlined his concerns with a worried grimace. "It's just that modern movies can be awfully graphic. Does this Grail knowledge tell you anything about CGI?"

"Huh?", she questioningly raised an eyebrow.

"As expected...", Simon sighed. "You see... it seems we can't get out of this one. But if it gets to you too much, you can just wait outside, you know."

She laughed mockingly.

"Your worries are cute, but I know it's just a movie. And you might not believe me, but even in my time movies were full of special effects. They might look crude to you, but they were still effective."

Simon scratched his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry then... It seems I am just the one chickening out, then..."

"Is the movie this awful?", she asked, obviously trying to change the topic.

"Oh no... it is... okay, I guess. It sure is no Shakespeare, but if you have survived the stuff that Soviet propaganda deemed fine, you will have no trouble with the story."

She poked between his rips with her index finger at that remark, causing him to flinch in pain.

"Mock them all you want, you still have to proof that you westerners can do better."

"Fine, challenge accepted", Simon complied, offering her to go first to the snack bar.

Simon decided to swallow his worries for his own sake and to spare her further annoyance. Trying to purge the dreams from the last nights from his mind, he tried to just enjoy the day the same way she tried to. And so the four of them took their seats like any ordinary group of people did. When the lights went out and the melancholic fanfare started, Simon watched his companion carefully. At first Roza looked out for where the sound came from, but she quickly gave up upon that and instead allowed herself to be fully absorbed into the experience during the introducing cemetery scene. Then came the cut to the Normandy, 6th June 1944.

 _Like I remember, the movie starts all out..._

Slow build-up was followed by a brutal and unforgiving fighting scene. Gunfire and explosions echoed through the hall, the incoming shots resonating so forcefully in his ears, even Simon flinched slightly. Looking to his right he found Hendrik and Alexandra. They weren't in a better condition. Alexandra was seemingly still deciding whether to look or not, all the while digging her fingernails into her armrest. Hendrik, though acting cool, shifted uncomfortably in his seat here and then. Roza to his left however watched completely calmly. Tense, yes, but the effects seemed to have little impression on her. Only when the camera panned down onto a disemboweled soldier, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

 _At least we will have passed the worst after Omaha._

"So, where is your propaganda now?", he whispered to her.

Her reply was just a faint smirk before she wordlessly turned her attention back to the movie.

They survived it, that much was for sure. Three and a half hours later, all four of them were sitting in a café discussing what they had seen.

"So, it was a first for both of the girls. So... how did you like it?", Hendrik asked with unabashed curiosity.

"It was... intense, I guess", Alexandra replied. "But at least it wasn't quite as cheesy as I was afraid it would be."

"And you, Roza?"

She looked up from her cappuccino, as if only now realizing she was being talked to. She had been unusually quite for a while, that at least Simon really found odd.

"I must admit, the quality of picture and sound was truly impressive", she admitted slightly sheepishly.

"I believe he is hinting at the story", Simon pointed out.

"Uh... Well, the opening battle sure blows the defensive battle in the middle of Chapayev out of the water. I also liked the dialogues and everything, it's just...", she hesitated, biting her lip.

Simon expected that if she spoke out of her mind it could mean trouble. Alexandra however leaned forward, studying her face attentively.

"Don't tell me you are one of the history cracks complaining about inaccuracies like wrong tanks or creased uniforms. Or about the fact that it looked like the Americans did all the work..."

"That's not it. I can only judge what I am familiar with myself", she admitted and Simon nervously leaned backwards. "And I am very unfamiliar with how things were on the western front. Therefore I have never heard of this American policy to pull back a last surviving brother. I find that premise quite silly, to be honest."

Simon decided to keep out of this discussion. He just watched how Alexandra and Hendrik blinked at the words of Roza.

"How so?", Hendrik asked. "I thought the movie tried to keep it ambiguous whether so many deaths to save one man was worth it."

"Sure. It's just that I agree with how Ryan reacted upon hearing of his orders. It really made no sense for him to get out of there. And it really put me off how Miller and his team were basically shaming him into dropping out of the fight. As if his own life is the only one he would be able to save..."

The others contemplated her thoughts carefully.

"You think he could have made that much of a difference?", Alexandra asked.

"Of course. That's how I would have interpreted 'Earn it!'. With Ryan removed from the front, one person is saved for sure. But with him remaining there, he has the chance to get more of his comrades through."

"And what if not?" Hendrik interjected with a frown. "What if he had just become another meaningless casualty? Then everything was truly for naught."

Roza shrugged.

"It's a gamble, like everything in life", she admitted with grave voice.

"And what of his parents?", Alexandra added. "Might be that he only bets his own life, but even then he is not the only one affected in the case of loosing."

"His parents?"

Roza was taken aback. It seemed, she had completely ignored them in her cold calculation.

"And his friends? What of them? There are surely other people back at home who looked forward to seeing him again."

"I see", a faint smile curled up her lips. "Yes, you can argue this. I guess I haven't thought of them when I should have."

Now the others were frowning at her words, visibly startled to have hit something too private for them to implore further. Only after several seconds Roza became aware of the silence and looked up. Reinforcing her smile, she swiftly went out of her way to change the topic.

"Oh, and of course I could complain that the German tank in the final battle was actually a poorly disguised Soviet design", she gave a mocking chuckle to reinforce her point.

The rest of the day was spent equally laid-back. Simon and Roza never bothered to continue their circle hunting, instead spending the time with the others. In the evening, it was Tobias' turn with cooking and after a very good meal of their supreme cook, everyone kind of dispersed inside the apartment. Hendrik went to get his laptop to make up for the working time he had dawdled away and Alexandra also checked her mails while Tobias, Roza and Simon were watching TV in the common room.

"I hope you kids were having fun", Tobias said, clicking through the channels.

"Of course we had", Simon replied. "We were quite lucky the cinema went out of their way to get a classic. How did you spend you time?"

"Oh, this and that...", he said evasively. "I considered going to the city till evening, but I expected the public transportation to be crammed after what had happened on the Autobahn."

Both of them looked up at that.

"What exactly did happen?", Roza asked with a frown.

"Well...", Tobias replied with a dramatic silence, meanwhile using the remote to find a news channel.

After only several minutes of other news, at least until the picture cut to footage of the Einzberner Ring from above. Apparently a bridge had collapsed and the reporter blamed a filming crew for it. Simon and Roza exchanged worried glances, waiting for the rest of the segment. And indeed, at the same time Alexandra had returned and stared at the TV in disbelieve, amateur footage was shown. The actors of said indie movie were apparently a blurry horseman and someone the two knowing ones were a little familiar with.

"In the chariot, is that...", Simon called out aghast.

"Yes, he sure is", Assassin replied immediately.

"Huh, you know this guy?", Tobias asked obliviously.

Both of them cringed at the question.

"Not really", Simon tried to talk his way out. "It's just that we have seen him yesterday in the city."

"You have to admit, this costume makes you stand out in a crowd, doesn't it?", Roza added with a well acted smirk.

"Sure...", Tobias replied with a frown.

Simon was glad to have not blown their cover, but his thoughts immediately returned to the pictures in front of him. There was no way this is a movie, this was an actual fight between Heroic Spirits. It was a little disconcerting for him to hear that people were injured, especially since there was a possibility that they had allowed the battle to happen due to them spending their time leisurely in the cinema instead of defusing magic circles.

"It's horrible how unsafe the streets have become", Alexandra observed with unhidden worry. "First this series of accidents, now a collapsing bridge."

"Not to mention a collapsing school building yesterday", Hendrik added, obviously having switched to clicking through the news on his laptop.

"More accidents?" Simon asked, gulping.

 _Could I have been so blind?_

"Well, there is this series of car accidents all over Einzbern", Alexandra explained. "According to the news, people just happen to drop dead while driving. It is kind of creepy if you think about it."

"Drop dead... like having a heart attack?"

"That's not what the news said. It is more of a mystery, apparently."

Simon allowed himself a deep breath, meanwhile studying Roza's worried expression.

"There can't be a way these incidents are connected, can they?", he asked softly, clinging desperately to the hope.

She didn't answer, she just grimaced, looking him deeply into the eyes and allowing the dreadful silence to drag on.

"Wait, there is?", he wanted to whisper, but it came out as a hiss instead.

She nodded with a pained expression.

 _A battle on the Autobahn and people being attacked while in their cars? Could it be... one of them?_

He rubbed his chin, trying to recall the picture of the boy and his pharaoh from the day before. It was just a kid and Simon had allowed him to just leave. Was he thanking his mercy by killing innocents awfully like the soldier they had let go came back to haunt the heroes in the movie they had watched? It seemed too cruel a thought. It was just a kid, if he had any shred of decency, harming innocents for the heck of it would be out of the question.

 _The other one, then. He must be the one responsible._

He knew it would raise suspicions, but he couldn't hold back his thirst for proof. Simon stood up.

"Excuse us for a bit", he apologized, signaling Roza to follow him into his room.

Leaving the stumped others behind, he closed the door behind them and booted up his computer in one swift motion.

"How the heck can you guys kill without using your weapons?", he whispered during the waiting period.

Assassin wandered through his room.

"It's an ugly aspect of our existence. Don't worry, I have no need to do it, but we can... by consuming souls."

It was a little weird to watch her squirm at the thought. She was still the same person who had calmly contemplated blowing a kid's brains out only a day before. Maybe it was because in this instance she couldn't rationalize such an action as defeating an enemy.

"If it is indeed the work of one of you guys, we need to step in immediately", Simon decided, even though it meant facing battle.

"Agreed. I'm also worried what could happen if he continues to collect mana this way. It might be this enemy could grow to a level where nobody is able to stop him."

Simon remembered how she had explained to him the usefulness of keeping mana consumption low. She mentioned that in the same breath of her explanation of 'Noble Phantasms' and how expensive those were for most of the combatants. Now it seemed like a soul-eating opponent could make unrestricted use of them. But they still needed proof. That's why he turned towards the computer monitor and scrambled for the browser.

"What are you doing?", Roza asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm trying to find out where the accidents happened."

"Oh, good idea!"

She scrambled towards his backpack and took out the map. It was the same map they had already used to mark all the magic circles in the city, so it was already filled with a scattering of red crosses. After Simon had opened the site of the local police reports, she had already grabbed a black pen waited for him announcing the next areas to mark. Scrolling through incidents small and large, he found the places where the cars crashed and told her the names of the streets where it happened. Five names altogether. And when he turned back to Roza and observed the positions of the streets she had marked, a hot shiver went through all his nerves.

 _Damn... Einzberner Ring surrounds the town... but all these streets are connected with its exits._

He sighed at the implications of this.

"So it truly is a hunting ground..."

Assassin nodded gravely.

"Sure. But knowing where the enemy is, is all the information we need", she smiled darkly.

"You are already planning something, aren't you?"

"Of course", Roza met his stare with utter conviction. "It is a game. And it is a game I pride myself in playing it well. After all... this is what I do to make a difference."

* * *

Author's Notes: Here we are. Yeah, flashback aside, it is another rather calm chapter before things are heating up again. I hope my pitiful attempts at Slice-of-Life are not too agonizing, for things are going to heat up soon and I'm afraid from there on I won't be able to allow my characters more than a few leisurely hours.

There are a few side-notes to be made regarding historical accuracy: For the sake of dramatic impact, I have rolled pretty much three different events into one. I haven't found any dates for the visits of Pyotr, but you can assume it was neither on the 10th October, which was the day Misha died, or the 12th December, which was the day she was actually wounded. I apologize for the freedom I took, but considering the atrocious things Type-Moon does for the sake of fanservice, I hope these changes for the sake of Assassin's arc and how it shaped her personality can be excused.

Another thing I want to address is the choice of movie they have watched. I searched for quite a long time to find something appropriate airing in 2006, but honestly haven't found one that would add to the topics this chapter raised. "Pan's Labyrinth" might be a gorgeous movie with a great plot, but Roza knows barely anything about Franco Spain except 'fascists are bad', which wouldn't make much of a conversation. And due to a misreading in the imdb, I thought for a little time that "300" had aired at the time and I had a few nice bits of plot about whether a death can accomplish anything and its relation to propaganda floating around. That and the culture shock would have been hilarious. I already had a scene in mind with an aghast Roza pointing at one of the posters in the foyer, asking whether Alexandra is talking about the movie with the naked guy on the cover. Alas, it was not supposed to happen.

On a last side-note: I was slightly creeped out when watching "Chapayev" for my research. While I have no proof the actual Roza has seen it, it was such an immense commercial succes which was brought back into the cinemas again and again that there is no way a movie-crack like her hasn't seen it. And even for today's standards, it is a surprisingly solid war-movie, the hilarious depiction of the Whites fighting in gala uniform aside. The most scary thing is that a lot of the ideals showing up in Roza's diary are also present in that movie, especially in regards to the badass machine-gunner Anna. That was quite an eerie experience and once again made me realize how much we are shaped by media.

Okay, so much for my headless musings. I hope I was able to entertain a little.


	16. Chapter 15 - Sabrina

Wow, this chapter should have been finished ages ago... but as it is, there is again a lot of stuff happening and I was yet again juggling in how and where what events are useful additions to Sabrina's and of course Richard's arc.

As it happens, the following chapter is presented to you by the soundtrack of Crusader Kings 2. ;)

I hope you have fun!

* * *

Chapter 15 - Sabrina

 **Messina, 1190**

The old trading port looked like it was near bursting with people. When the column of riders under the red banner with its golden lions pressed their way through the crowded streets. Uneasy eyes followed them everywhere, some in awe, some in contempt.

 _The people of Messina are a proud people, tracing their lineage back to the Roman era and even the Greek founding before it. No doubt we looked like some kind of foreign invader to them, even though we came with the blessing of their king._

Richard smiled at them warily, trying to bless them with his royal nods. But in the end, he just continued to ride onwards. Their target was a hill north of the city where a small fortress loomed over Messina. When the English riders approached the portcullis, two banners were billowing above the gatehouse. A blue one with a jagged band of red and silver, as well as another blue one with golden lilies. The King of England would make sure to add his own lions soon enough.

But right now he had things to attend to that urged more. Immediately after dismounting he gave his horse into the care of one of the stableboys, Richard endured his announcement to the castellan and then headed straight to the main keep. In the end he found King Philip bent over a table in the solar, drowning in scrolls and documents.

 _Planning a crusade is troublesome business. And I was glad to see that Philip took it as seriously as I did._

The King of France looked up from his work, eying the intruder at first with surprise, then with an easy smile.

"Is this the English way of approaching one of your rank?", he asked mischievously.

Richard gave a hearty chuckle.

"That's why I left my companions downstairs", he replied easily. "It is good to see you again. I sincerely hope your travels weren't too wearisome."

Philip then rose from his chair, striding to a cupboard nearby. Taking a flagon of wine, he poured two cups and offered one of them to Richard. They toasted to the success of the ongoing crusade, but it was undeniable that the greeting was more gruff than Richard had expected.

"I take you silence that the reinforcements of King William haven't arrived yet."

Philip frowned at that.

"What?", his confusion seemed short-lived as he soon thereafter brightened up in realization. "Oh right, there were some arrangements made by your late father. You really think he still feels obligated to it?"

"That's why I chose Sicily as a rally point", Richard explained, sipping at the wine. "You see, he swore that oath the cause, not to the man. Even if he doesn't have any men to spare, I am sure he can squeeze a couple of coins out of this fine island he has."

Philip snickered slightly.

"Never heard you saying praises to island kingdoms before..."

The King of England joined with his raspy laugh.

"You see, having the sun shining down onto your head instead of all kinds of water pissing down on you sure improves an impression."

"If you say so..."

They then went back to discuss the topics at hand. Matters about how to accommodate the troops and hiring ships had to be cleared. Richard still hoped William would provide naval support, but if it came to the worst, they had to organize shipment on their own.

"Maybe the sea route wasn't so clever after all...", Richard complained while investigating the list of ships currently anchored at Messina.

In the worst case they had to buy all of them and that would have been most costly. He had collected all this money for food and shelter, to increase the force he needed to take and hold Jerusalem, not to reimburse merchants for barely seaworthy rafts.

"No, no. Seas route is fine", Philip replied while casually going through maps himself. "The most recent messages from the Roman Emperor speak of trouble with the Greeks bogging down his march to a crawl."

"I hope the old man won't miss out all the fun, then", Richard said thoughtfully. "I intend to reach Akkon before winter blocks our passage."

 _Behold my great planning genius. Fighting is easy. Organizing a fight is easy. But grasping the politics of such an undertaking... Things would soon turn out much more complicated than initially expected... and far more tedious..._

The picture changed. A few days had apparently passed, Richard's lions now had joined lilies and checkered stripe on the battlements. Richard was standing in the yard overlooking several knights fighting mock battles with blunted weapons when the announcement of a messenger was made. Richard smiled broadly at the kneeling knight after he was brought to him. He looked weary, his coat drenched in sweat, obviously having traveled a great distance in great haste. But his personal sigil was the cause of Richard's high spirits. He remembered it from a household knight his mother had hired to escort his sister off to her future husband.

"You came not to bring tidings from King William, aren't you?", he asked with unabashed curiosity.

"No, your majesty", he answered immediately. "I came on behalf of Queen Joan of Sicily."

Richard was beaming at the mention of her name.

"Pray tell, what news do you carry from my lovely sister?"

He indeed took a small sealed parchment out of his pocket, but for some reason he hesitated to give it to Richard immediately. Instead he clasped it with both hands.

"I'm afraid the tidings I bring are not joyous ones", he said, struggling for the right words.

 _Come to think of it, a lone rider for official communications was indeed quite unusual. As usual when you deal with nobility, a ceremonial show of force would have been adequate if neither of the royal couple was able to appear in person._

The Lionheart's expression grew wary and serious as he waited for the words of the messenger.

"It pains me to tell you, but his wise majesty King William passed away from sudden illness a couple of weeks ago", he said.

"This would explain the silence so far...", Richard mused silently, before addressing the knight in a more formal voice. "This loss of yours and Sicily grieves me greatly. I shall weep for such a trustworthy ally. I am sure he dines with angels for his honorable life."

"There is more, your majesty...", the young knight added with a sad grimace. "The reason why I had to undergo great hardships to reach you in such unfitting manner."

The king urged with a sign of his hand to continue.

"As you well know, the marriage of the young king to my mistress, Queen Joan was sadly never blessed with any heirs."

Richard grimaced, he was thinking hardly about lines of succession, but his silence was proof enough that he was too unfamiliar with the local politics to tell who exactly was now in charge.

"The laws say, that the kingdom now belongs to his aunt Constance, the spouse of Prince Heinrich of the Holy Roman Empire", the messenger explained to help him out of his pinch.

 _Considering the hostile past between the Germans and Sicily, I don't think he would have approved of his kingdom being swallowed by the Empire in a generation or two._

"The way you put things it seems she was not able to press her claim yet...", Richard said with a frown.

"Indeed, you majesty", the messenger replied with slight reluctance. "The bastard son of the late Duke Roger, an ambitious knight called Tancred, has seized the throne and crowned himself king."

The king scratched the back of his head with an unsure expression.

"I beg you, speak clearly!", he demanded after his irritation was overcome by impatience. "I have taken the cross and came a long way to continue my pilgrimage into the Holy Land. I have no business with this Tancred except whether he intends to hold up the promises of his predecessor or not."

"But... your majesty...", he now presented the letter he had hesitated to give away before. "The usurper not only used the shock about the young monarch's death to claim the throne, he also took action against those who could be a threat to his rule."

Richard's face darkened immediately. He already knew which person he meant by that.

"What did he do to her?", he asked with barely hidden contempt.

"The usurper put the grieving widow under house arrest. He tried to keep her isolated, but through her handmaidens she managed to get this letter and instructions to find you at Messina to me."

"Imprisoned, eh?", Richard stated darkly. "So that's what happened."

He took the letter, broke the seal with all haste and read the plead for help silently. While he did that, he perceived a group of French knights approaching from the keep. Among them was a visibly confused King Philip.

"What is the meaning of this commotion?", he asked with raised eyebrows.

"We are going to break camp", Richard announced gruffly, putting the letter down.

"Moving out?", Philip blinked. "Has the King of Sicily finally paid for our passage?"

The snorting Richard gave was full with grim amusement.

"Oh, he will. Trust me, old friend... he will pay for sure."

The picture changed to a scene a few days later. The Lionheart in all his royal armor was inspecting the battlements with which the crusaders had encircled a small fortress that grew out of a rock formation. A few dozen trebuchets were battering its walls with terrifying projectiles. The strings wheezed as weights were falling down and ripped the wooden arms into the air. Massive stones were flung over the king's head and exploded upon hitting the fortifications of the enemy. Richard watched this scene of destruction with pure satisfaction.

 _I didn't like making innocents pay for the deeds of this bastard, but marching on Palermo stood out of the question. Instead we attacked the holdfast of a local duke. According to the locals, they stored the taxes of this area in there. Therefore storming this castle would not only draw Tancred's attention, but also add a nice sum to fill our chronically empty war chest._

While the king stood there with folded arms among his men-at-arms, a different group was approaching them. Among them a young knight, the one in service to Queen Joan who had brought him her plea for help. After his arrival, he immediately went to his knees.

"You are in need of my service, your majesty?", he said eagerly.

"Rise, Sir", Richard ordered bluntly, taking out a sealed letter from his pocket. "You have sworn no fealty to me, so I cannot order you to do anything. I can only ask you to accept bringing my messages to 'King' Tancred. It would please me greatly."

The man climbed to his feet. He seemed to weigh his options for a split-second, but if he had any doubts, he soon swatted them aside.

"If I can serve my queen this way, I shall accept gladly."

Richard grinned in appreciation that he was willing to take part in this other snub towards that usurping bastard.

"My dear sister can take great pride in having such a diligent knight in her service."

"I do not deserve such flattery, your majesty. I only want to help."

"Very well", he waved towards the scene of destruction in front of them. "This shall be my first message", Richard said darkly, before he offered the knight his letter. "This shall be my second message", the knight took it like a fragile treasure. "And as a third, tell King Tancred that he can thank God that I was born a Christian. This way I content myself with only my precious sister and every single penny of her dowry. Otherwise I would demand interest from that man who doesn't know how to treat a grieving widow."

"It shall be done", the messenger shared his evil grin. After his dismissal, the king's blue eyes continued their gaze upon the ongoing battering of the fortress.

 _And so it was done. I took the castle in record time while Tancred scrambled over his feet to meet my demands. Meanwhile things in eastern Sicily didn't remain as calm as I had hoped. The locals became pretty pissed about our little expedition and tried to shut us out from the harbor. They forced to me to march back to Messina and occupy the city like a foreign invader._

The procession with which the former Queen of Sicily arrived at Messina was something far more worthy for a meeting between nobles. She came with her entire household. Servants, courtiers, a retinue of knights. And in the middle of it all, a tall young woman in her early twenties, who shared the same gold-red color of hair with her brother. He expected her in the courtyard of the castle and was himself dressed in his most royal dressings, a red cape billowing at his back. The yard itself was extremely crowded, with knights and men-at-arms filling all the battlements, all the recesses, all the space except the line between gate and keep. The plentitude red lion-banners flapping above them made the few specs of blue look quite lonely.

Joan was brought to the city by carriage, but for the final entrance ceremony into the castle, she had climbed out and approached the King in all her red finery, flanked by all her courtiers. Among them the knight who had been her messenger, Richard noted his smug grin before he returned his attention to the woman in front of him.

"Your Majesty", she announced with her most courteous smile.

"Joan", Richard stated, barely containing his grin.

Protocol ended at that point. Instead of a more formal kiss, Richard went forward and hugged her tightly, lifted her into the air and swirled her around. Her giggling rang in his ears, and it was soon accompanied by the cheers and laughter of all the soldiers and knights present. Joan was still wobbly after he placed her back onto the ground, but to see her bright smile was worth all the trouble.

"Ah, Joan... we haven't seen each other in so long a time. I had hoped our meeting again would be under more joyous circumstances. You have my sincere condolences."

"You have my thanks, brother. I cannot say I was mistreated, but not knowing what was about to happen was the worst during it all. At least I could always know that I can count on you", she put on a mischievous smirk. "Even though I can imagine that my dearest older brother jumped surprisingly quickly at the notion of a princess in distress."

Richard made a disarmed motion.

"What can I say? You were always my little princess after all", his coarse voice was unusually tenderly.

"Then I believe it is time for my shining knight's due reward", she turned back at her servants and upon a wave of her hands, two men clambered to heave a large chest from the back of her carriage.

They brought it forth to the two siblings who were standing in the castle yard and presented the coins within very ceremoniously. It was an astonishing heap of gold and silver, but there was even more. The servants went back and brought something which looked like a long cloth of blue. Richard frowned at that. It seemed like there was something wrapped in it.

"I know you need the money, but I believe there is something that would bring you even more joy", Joan said teasingly upon taking the cloth herself.

Carefully the young queen folded it open, presenting the object hidden beneath. Richard looked upon it with deep furrows going through his brows. There was a hint of marvel to be found in his bout of recognition, but he looked at it far more seriously than expected.

It was a sword.

A heavily battered one, its age was clearly visible, but it was a sword nevertheless. The blade was dented and full of cracks, it had lost its edge centuries ago. Rust and mistreatment had taken its toll upon the weapon, even though now it was polished and restored to its best possible condition with great care. Even then, the fine engravings in an unknown Celtic symbol language where only faintly visible.

"Don't tell me...", Richard started in a low voice.

"It is!", Joan assured, presenting him the hilt.

The king made a graceful bow, as much for the woman as for the sword, before he took the old artifact and raised it carefully into air.

"Behold", he called out to his soldiers. "Returned to me by my dearest sister: The mighty Excalibur!"

Especially among the Englishmen, this name still had a great deal of meaning. Richard watched with giddy amusement how their faces turned awestruck. Even the Franks seemed surprised.

"My late father gave it to William as a wedding gift. A splendid gift he should use to protect my sister, certainly. But also one that might have been above his rank. My father didn't mind, sad as it is. He never cared for your old king as much as I do. All he did was sneering at his legacy, declaring that it is folly to wait for your greatest king's return", he broke into a manic grin. "I say he may not have returned yet, but I suppose he doesn't have to. How can England be in dire need when its king wields Excalibur again?"

The question was replied by another wave of cheers. A few of the Englishmen even yelled something like a broken "Mais Arthur est déjà revenu!" for which Richard felt greatly honored. But every ceremony had to end. And finally Joan and Richard retreated to the keep. As soon as the door was closed behind them, the king sighed and allowed himself to relax a little. The way Joan massaged her bare neck looked like she was similarly happy to have escaped all these curious eyes.

"Now this is an unexpected gift", Richard said softly, he was still holding the crooked sword.

"I know how much you fancy these stories of yours", Joan stepped at his side, sharing his gaze at the blade. "I am glad you like it has returned to you."

Richard grunted mischievously.

"The Joan I remember loved those 'fancy stories' as much as I did. You know that this can't be the actual Excalibur. Arthur made sure it would return to the Lady of the Lake after all."

Joan shrugged.

"Even if it isn't, it was buried together with Arthur himself. Or at least what a couple of monks declared to be Arthur's grave. Kind of unlikely, if we trust he went to Avalon."

"True. Father was ever all too eager to declare him dead, to trample his legacy as if he feared Arthur would return to demand his throne back", Richard grimaced, the late King was a topic he tried to avoid most of the time.

Sensing his discomfort, Joan brought them back to their actual topic.

"What I want to say, is, that no matter whether he actually held it himself or not, the belief of the people is enough to make it true. For a king who is fighting with Excalibur, his men will march to the Lord's Kingdom and beyond. You should treasure it. In the end, what is a hero without his magic sword?"

"Hah! That's exactly what I've hoped for", Richard mused absentmindedly. "Well, a lot has happened, dear sister. A lot we have to talk about. You see, now that Tancred managed to disrupt my plans of departure, we are stuck here for the rest of winter. Shall we go see Philip? I'm sure he has locked himself up somewhere here, fuming and ranting about the 'waste of time'."

"Seems like there is much to catch up on."

And with this, the reunited siblings walked through the dark halls, eagerly chatting not only about the stories of politics they have encountered, but about those tales of chivalry they had enjoyed reading as well.

 **Einzbern, 2006**

On her entire way to school, Sabrina felt dreadful. She knew what awaited her, she was responsible for it after all. But despite this, she had to go. Even though she couldn't really tell whether she wanted to avoid suspicion (if that was even possible) or just face the repercussions herself. Having the crimson knight watching over her shoulder wasn't helpful either. After all, he chose the school as a battlefield in order to rid Archer of space to maneuver.

 _At the very least, I can hear how they deal with it and where I need to go to school for now..._

The street in front of the school building was crowded with pupils. It was to be expected, they were blocked and confused by the cordon Sabrina had already observed the evening before. An array of teachers was to be seen behind it, the headmaster holding a long-winded speech about how school will continue next week, albeit in a different building. While he rambled about organizational fallacies which will complicate to settle matters, Sabrina silently went to a couple of her classmates she found at the edge of crowd. Their sympathy for the troubled teachers was palpable.

"Only this week? And I thought they bridge the gap till next holiday", she heard somebody saying.

"Too bad the school didn't collapse", somebody else chimed in.

Sabrina suppressed a sigh.

 _You should be glad it didn't collapse on top of you..._

"Hi there!", she called out upon finding a couple of girls she was friends with.

Luckily, their confused expressions about the entire situation were not as happy as the others. When she approached them, Sabrina tried to put on a similarly surprised act.

"Hi Sabrina!", they called out. "You're unusually late."

She looked onto her watch. Indeed, she might have arrived late under ordinary circumstances. Knowing what had awaited her anyways, she had idled the time away at first, trying to make the decision whether to go or not, and then went rather casually despite that.

"Uh, sorry, my morning was kinda messed up. Speaking of messed up things... what the hell happened here?", she asked with feigned frowning.

"They said parts of the school building kind of went down. Cracks everywhere", one of them answered.

"Whoa, this sounds awful...", she replied, unable to refrain from averting their eyes. She looked at the school instead. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"As far as I have heard, everybody is fine. It happened after school was over", her classmate explained.

"I see... I guess it'll take some time to sort things out. If I've heard correctly, we get a notification where our lessons take place next week", she had kept up her part and now wanted to wriggle herself out of the conversion. "I will see you then."

The first pupils were already making their way home, it was the perfect moment to slip among them and disappear together with Saber. Right when she decided to do that, she realized her 'ally' was wandering through the crowd, looking up as he found her. He nodded towards her and approached her before she had any chance to make up her mind about a fitting answer. Or getting away from her classmates first.

"Hi there", Kai spoke up. "How is it going?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"You have some nerves to speak up to me like this", Sabrina snapped back.

"What?"

He was either pretending to be oblivious to his attack from the day before, or didn't know about it. Considering that they had only seen Archer, it was absolutely possible that Ramesses acted on his own to spare his Master any ill feelings of culpability. But just as she wanted to apologize for her lashing out at him, she suddenly felt the weight of all those stares of those around her. They seemed awfully interested in the topic.

"Just... just go away", Sabrina cut him short. "I cannot stand you after what you did yesterday."

He seemed awestruck, but obeyed. Watching him leave, Sabrina eyed her surroundings, knowing that this treacherous Archer was likely still lurking around somewhere. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Richard's distinctive voice apologizing to someone. Since there were only two beings able to hear him in the vicinity and one of them was she herself, it quite clear that he was still hovering somewhere around.

"Who was that? I didn't know you were hanging out with guys from the class above ours", one of them asked curiously.

"He must have been quite rude to deserve such harsh words. Seriously, what's up with him?", another one chimed in.

 _Oh great, now I'll never live that one down..._

"Nobody, really. Just a passing acquaintance who won't stay one for sure."

They seemed disappointed at the lack of gossiping material, but accepted her handwaving without much fuzz. Soon the discussion went back to the damaged school and the situation of homeworks which now got an unexpected raise in preparation time. Sabrina joined it for a while, trying to make them forget the uncomfortable confrontation and only excused herself after a few more minutes had passed and the crowd was visibly decimated.

"Goodbye then, see you!", they exchanged hugs and then Sabrina started on her way home.

"And?", she whispered after a small distance. "You have asked him, right?"

"Not about that", Saber replied. "I trust his word, after all. But regardless, he told me he was busy fighting my spear-toting friend."

"He fought Lancer as well?"

"Aye. Until the law enforcement broke them up, that is", the knight sounded like he found that quite amusing.

Sabrina had grim thoughts. When he saw Lancer, then it was just a roundabout way of saying that he was indeed close nearby during their duel with her. It was no proof for her theory, but it didn't denied it either.

"My petite lionne seems to have a hard time trusting anyone, eh?", he asked after a while.

"Trust doesn't get you very far when in the end, the only person you can truly rely on is yourself. Especially when the air of betrayal lingers in the air."

The spirit gave a weary sigh.

"I was on the receiving end of more than enough betrayals. You may think I would share your thoughts, but during those times the belief that somewhere out there are men who act and speak with the honor I cherish was one of the ideals that kept me going."

Sabrina nodded. She knew she had no right to speak against his ideals, in the end it was his time he was speaking of. She would just prefer that now in this time he would be more wary of empty words. With this in mind, they silently resumed their walk. Some time later Sabrina was back home again. Sitting on the couch in the living room, she was pondering about the plans for the day.

"I prefer to keep our heads down", she proposed. "So you can recover the energy you wasted yesterday and we're likely to avoid springing any trap there might be laid out."

"Traps laid out by Archer?", he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Traps laid out by anyone", she assured him. "Who knows who has watched our nightly adventures till now. It is better to make them lower their guard and confront them with fresh energy tomorrow."

The Lionheart gave an acknowledging grunt.

"I see your reasoning, petite lionne, then let us rest for today."

Truth be told, her reasoning was more or less just an excuse to take a rest herself. She felt wearied out after their ongoing endeavours in the darkness. Her sleep rhythm was thoroughly wrecked and she needed a break as much as Saber did. Collapsing from headaches and sleep deprivation surely wouldn't be helpful when they get into the next serious fight. Especially if she herself was targeted again...

Right when she mused about that, resting her eyes, her mobile phone suddenly rang. Wondering whether it was one of her schoolmates she took it out, while Saber himself turned his attention to a TV magazine, seemingly not wanting to disturb her conversation.

"Ugh, it's Kai...", she thought aloud, clicking it away.

"Maybe it was important...", he looked up from the magazine.

"Maybe. Or it could be just another ploy by Archer."

Saber grimaced in a way that looked like he was going to object, at least until the phone rang a second time. Annoyed at his persistence, Sabrina now not only pushed the call away, she even put out her phone. Whatever the reason for his call was, it had to wait till next day. Then she would be able to decide whether he and his Archer had deserved her trust, or not. And if it was really that important, he could as well show up himself. After all, he knew where she lived. After she had made up her mind about that, Sabrina was in dire need of changing the topic.

"And?", she asked with a glance at Richard's magazine. "You have found anything of interest?"

With his features softening, the knight shrugged.

"There is a movie about to start that is apparently an Arthurian tale."

"Why am I not surprised that this one caught your attention?", she gave a soft chuckle. "One of those unknown to you?"

"I guess this humble knight here has become a tad predictable. But indeed. Or at least I am unfamiliar with the title. 'Die Ritter der Kokosnuss' sounds very much like a newer one. Is it any good?"

Sabrina couldn't help, that one made a laugh out loud.

"Oh, you will like it, there I am sure."

 _And here I am, watching TV with Richard Lionheart..._

It was strange. His observations had somehow made her thoughtful. When she thought back, Sabrina was indeed a person who had difficulty trusting others. She was just so comfortable being alone, working alone, fighting alone, relying on someone else seemed like adding an unnecessary and unpredictable variable. It surprised her herself how fast she was able to let her guard down with Richard around. You might think the time-displaced knight would be the ultimate unknown variable, but instead he turned out to be like a long-lost uncle who had suddenly barged into her life. Not that he had any experiences with uncles. Or family in general.

"I had another dream last night", she heard herself say absentmindedly.

Saber, who was until then busy trying to find the channel with his movie, stopped his endeavour and muted the sound instead.

"Anything I have startled you with?", he asked seriously.

"No. Not at all. I'm just... I just wanted to say that I am slightly envious. You really got along nicely with your sister."

"Joan?", saying this name made his expression somehow strange. He spoke unusually soft.

Sabrina nodded.

"I guess I can be happy that my sister isn't in the country. I couldn't stand her reaction if she sees you."

"Being a Master in a Grail War is a high honor. Wouldn't she be supportive of you?"

"Nope... she would find a way to mock me with it, no matter how absurd her logic. All I did, I was interested in, always seemed beneath her... and my parents didn't do much to discourage that."

"Maybe she should be here, then", Richard gave her a sly grin. "Maybe I could teach her a lesson or two in courtesy, then."

 _And making it worse?_

"Maybe it's a girl's thing that you have no influence on. The way I see it, you and your brothers were quarrelsome as well. If I had a big brother, maybe things would have turned out differently."

"Nonsense", Richard interjected grimly. "I grew up with three sisters and all of them got along splendidly. My feud with my brothers had nothing to do with the fact that they were brothers. With birthright, yes, partly. But most of that was my parents playing favourites. You think I don't wonder whether things had turned out differently if they didn't? I do. Every day. Even back in the days I did, whenever my attempts to make peace with John failed. I am not angry at him for his plots, I am angry at my father. It were his promises that pitted us against each other, even long after he was gone."

 _Playing favourites, huh..._

Sabrina slumped down on the couch, staring at the ceiling with sleepy eyes. Was there indeed the root of her troubles? She was deep in thought as she closed her eyes, trying to let them rest a little... at least until the bawdy laughter of Richard ripped her violently out of it. It seemed he was enjoying his movie whole-heartedly. This way, dreaming was surely impossible. Therefore she kept in mind that she had more than enough time to sleep this evening, and simply joined him. Surely, after this Grail mess was over, Richard Plantagenet would have a quite different view on Arthur and his knights... and she on him.

This way, they idled away most of the day. They watched TV, chatted about the woes of family and even exchanged a couple of literature recommendations. Sabrina was just about to go make herself breakfast as Richard switched to a news channel. Things were quite normal, at least as normal as it can get in these modern times in which the news of accidents of all over the planet piled up in a way that made it look like a thoroughly depressing place. Until she recognized places in Einzbern, that is. On a national-wide channel even.

The Master of Saber tensed as she absorbed what she had missed on this casual day. Pictures of concrete debris filling a motorway. The announcer spoke of an illegal film team and pyrotechnics that caused the destruction. But Sabrina saw immediately through this far-fetched lie. In fact, she wondered immediately how anyone could have come to such a conclusion after witnessing the destruction caused by Servants. It only came to her after they showed the clip made by one of the witnesses. Two blurry figures hunting each other amidst the traffic at breakneck speed. When the first one darted past the observer, Sabrina watched with narrowed eyes, trying to make sense out of the horseman. But it was no good. This Servant was so fast, she couldn't even guess the gender. Guessing at the identity was impossible then. But it was the second one that interrupted her train of thought. She only noticed a flash of gold and blue and yet it was enough, she recognized that figure immediately.

"You've got to be kidding me!", she exclaimed in annoyance.

Saber grunted with a serious expression.

"It seems our ferocious ally had no mind for a break like we did", he glanced at her with raised eyebrows, obviously amused about the news.

"It's a disaster...", not even had he drawn the attention of the public onto him, people were hurt.

She silently listed for more information about those injured. The newsreader made it sound as if far worse could have happened, but the property damage still seemed insanely high. And yet, while she paid attention to each word, Sabrina got the impression that something with the story was off.

"Why do they keep saying the people responsible for it are kept in custody? That doesn't make any sense", she drove her fingers through her hair. "If they had caught any of the combatants, they would know that they weren't shooting a movie. Not that I assume Archer would even allow that to happen."

"You mean your messaging service is lying on purpose?", Richard asked back.

"I have no idea what they gain by it, but yes. The rationalizations seem just... too detailed. If they were confused themselves about what happened, they would keep it more vague."

"What are you proposing, then?"

Sabrina took out her mobile phone, it was still shut off. The first thing it did when shut on, was ringing to announce a missed call. As expected, Kai didn't bother to make a fourth try.

"If he had been caught and succeeded in sprouting nonsense, I will find out soon enough", she pushed return call.

The phone rang a few times, making her nearly think he would retaliate to her earlier dismissal in a likewise fashion. So when the phone cracked and the line was established, she breathed a sigh of relieve for the possibility of wrapping it up fast.

"Reymeyer here?", she heard Kai's voice.

"I really never imagined I have to call you because I just saw you at TV. What the hell were you thinking?"

His moaning into the phone was clearly audible. When he continued to speak, his voice was muted down to a whisper.

"We had to do something. People were dying."

"Good job. You can be glad that nobody was killed because of you", she was still a little ticked off by his action, but the reason he stated made her frown. "But what do you mean? People were killed."

"I... my parents are downstairs and they are kind of suspicious since yesterday. I can't get into much details since they could overhear the wrong stuff..."

"Then I recommend to speak fast..."

He faltered at that.

"Yeah... you see. We found out that this Rider guy is killing people all over the motorway to collect mana. I have no idea why and I likely don't want to know, but we had to stop them. And since he was unable to get anyone today, I count it as some kind of victory, pyrrhic as it may be."

She didn't care whether he counted that as success or not, she was more worried about the implications of what he spoke of.

"How many died?", she asked incredulously.

"Five we know of. Just zap through the news. The car accidents piling up are all over it."

"So then you thought you could take care of it yourself?"

"You didn't leave me much choice", he defended himself miserably.

"You could have just come over or something. I didn't know it was something that serious. So... how did it end? Did you finish him?"

Kai sighed on the other end.

"Ugh, not really. We needed to retreat after things got messy. You see, our plan was to somehow corner him and get him off the motorway. Sadly he proved too elusive for us."

Now she had to frown at that notion. Of course it meant that neither Kai nor his opponent were captured, confirming her suspicions, but there was something else that made her head spin.

"Cornering someone in a circle? Doesn't sound very likely to happen...", she growled.

"Well, what else should we have done on our own?"

Sabrina shook her head. She still mistrusted Archer, but if what he said was true, hurrying to stop Rider was indeed the right choice, no matter how badly his non-existing plan sucked. To stop things from getting even more out of hand, they needed to intervene quickly. And for that, she had get back to this whole ally business.

"Can you come over tomorrow morning?", Sabrina proposed. "Let's make up a plan that actually works."

"Gladly", he replied. "We need to finish that one fast and decisively. Together. I'm also glad you aren't angry about that whole 'surprise Noble Phantasm' thing anymore."

"That was not the reason, Kai, it was... oh well, just forget it and keep an eye on Archer if we are supposed to work together."

"On Archer?", his voice sounded oddly stretched when he asked that. She seemed successful in utterly confusing him.

"We see us tomorrow at nine", she concluded. "Bye."

"Goodbye..."

She sighed after putting the phone down. Now there was no backing down anymore. She had made that decision and now they had to push through it. It might have been dangerous to rely on them, but considering how far they went on their own, she assumed Archer was likely intending to finish it. She forced herself to a smile.

"I told you we are going to resume the Grail War tomorrow."

"Indeed you did, petite lionne", Saber replied, his brows forming a deep frown.

"You are unusually quiet", she couldn't help but notice that he looked very excited about the prospect of battle before, but now remained thoughtful. "You are like that since we watched the clip of Archer's fiasco. Wait... did you recognize his opponent?"

Richard shook his head.

"No. He could be anyone. But... The way this horseman looked, something doesn't sit well with me."

"Is he a Saracen?", she hadn't seen any dreams of his crusading times yet, but a déjà-vu seemed totally possible.

"No. Wrong riding style, a Saracen would not need to cling to his pony like this. And the horse is a little too tall."

"You were able to see that much in these few seconds?", Sabrina had to admit, that was impressive.

The knight shrugged.

"I can just observe what I'm familiar with and what not. After all, I have owned such a steed myself. And while he isn't a hero of my age, I can't help but notice that I have read a description fitting to this Rider somewhere. Did Archer find out anything else of notice?"

"I'm afraid I didn't ask", she gave him a tired smile. "But I am sure you can ask him tomorrow."

Sabrina followed up by planning a little in advance with Saber to get a head-start against team Archer. Not that they really needed it, considering the tactical genius the pharaoh had proven this day. But it was better to wrap it up earlier so that they didn't waste any more time before heading out and confronting the enemy. Nevertheless, this evening Sabrina retreated to her room early. She intended to be at peak awareness the next day... both against their enemy and their so-called ally.

 **Messina, 1191**

In the short time-span the crusaders had set up camp in that castle, its yard must have seen quite a lot of illustrious visitors. Once again, a very impressive array of knights with red banners were entering, escorting a pompous carriage that displayed even more craftsmanship than the one of Joan. In fact, it was like the whole castle was painted red this day. Philip looked a tad lonely in his blue garments while he awaited the visitor together with Richard and Joan.

 _Watching all these banners sure made me a little nostalgic. I was surrounded by most of them during my childhood. They belonged to those knights in my mother's court in Aquitaine. Most of them at least. Those I did not recognize immediately were from French knights who might have been later additions. But then there was something else..._

Behind the red lion on a silver field, Richard spotted a red banner with a four golden stripes forming a cross on it. Each stripe was dotted with what looked like golden bubbles.

 _That one was almost certainly none of ours._

Curious, but without any hint of letting his good mood weighed down by the observation, Richard crossed his arms and awaited the announcement.

"Her majesty, the King's mother Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine!"

The carriage was opened and one of her knights helped the queen down the steps. She was a woman approaching 70 years in a modest royal tunic dress and a veil covering her greying hair. And yet, despite only her face being visible and her body hidden under layers of fabric, the beauty she was radiating was still breath-taking. She was a tall woman, with striking dark eyes and a casual aura of authority. When approaching her son, she eyed her surroundings with knowledgeable glances for that everything followed proper protocol. She at first greeted Philip, who kissed her hand with a slight bow.

"It is good to see you fare well. My son is lucky to have such a staunch friend on his side."

"You flatter me with your observation, your majesty", he replied. "And I am glad to still be regarded as a friend. The way this place continues to get crowded with lions, you start to fear for your life."

"Oh, rest assured, dear Philip. Lions tend to not feed on lillies."

With a smile on her lips, she moved next to Joan who did a curtsy.

"Milady mother", she said.

"You look well, my little flower. I nearly despaired upon hearing of the injustice done to you."

"I was treated well, but thanks to my lord brother's immediate intervention, things were resolved quite smoothly."

"I was relieved to hear so."

Finally she arrived in front of her royal son. It was like she was scrutinizing him from head to heel.

"Milady mother", he dipped his head before kissing her cheeks.

"Ah Richard. Seeing you doing well surely warms my heart. I hope you excuse our sudden arrival."

"The announcement of your march through Italy sure was a pleasant surprise", Richard admitted, even though he had frowned at her use of plural. "If trouble with King Tancred had not pinned us down, you might have missed us."

"My apologies for my rashness. But sometimes a mother simply has to try catching her son, even if he travels so far in his adventures", for a split-second, she glanced at Philip. "There is someone I just had to introduce to you."

Eleanor waved towards the carriage. And indeed, the announcer shouted a second name. Richard had already seen that there was still someone else inside, but he had assumed it was just one of her maids who helped her chatting away the weariness of travel.

"Berengaria of House Jiménez, Princess of Navarre."

Richard could only blink in surprise, but his mother seemed intend on making a show. She urged him with a gentle push to help her out of the vehicle. Still a bit dumbfounded, he approached the carriage and offered his hand for the young lady inside. She took it, and climbed through the door with the elegance of a professional. Princess Berengaria was a young woman of about Joan's age with hazel eyes and black hair. She was of petite build, not quite as radiant as the Plantaganet women, but still fair to look upon. When Richard did his knightly duty and escorted her to the places of honor, he was watching the reactions of the other royals attentively. Eleanor was smiling brightly, Joan was visibly confused and Philip looked like he was just kicked by a horse. Richard gulped, turning his attention back to his guest.

"You have travelled a long way, milady. I will see to it that a chamber will be prepared for all the rest you need."

"You are very kind to me, your majesty", she replied in heavily accented French.

 _Of course that was just a polite way of saying "Sorry, but right now I have no time for you, I am going to have a serious conversation with my mother and need you out of harm's way."_

A couple of hours later Richard had indeed succeeded in wriggling himself out of the courtesies expected from him. He was able to invite his mother to his private solar where they should be able to discuss matters with only the flickering light of torches attending them. Eleanor watched him with her arms folded while Richard prowled the room restlessly.

"I am not as blind as you might think I am", he growled. "I see what you are plotting and considering how much you've sent Philip into a frenzy, he sees it pretty clearly as well."

"I never raised you to be a blind man", Eleanor answered with a teasing smile. "And I sincerely hope the girl is of your taste."

"As much as Navarre is to yours, I presume?", Richard countered. "A small kingdom bordering your duchy. I would be very surprised if Berengaria's dowry doesn't include a sizable expansion into Spanish territory. Very cunning of you, if not for one small detail."

His mother tilted her head, awaiting his further elaboration.

"I am already betrothed!", he insisted strongly.

Her laughter about that notion made Richard look utterly flabbergasted.

"Am I amusing you, mother? I beg you, tell me the joke lest I cannot share the joy."

"It's just that I've never seen you bringing up Alys as a paper shield before."

"Philip already begins to see plots behind each door and now you slapped him with one into the face...", he thought she needed the added explanation to understand his trouble.

Of course Eleanor was well aware of the situation.

"If you were so concerned about your relation to France, you would have married Alys ages ago. How long did you expect Philip to wait? How long did you intend to drag this farce out? Until Alys dies of old age?"

Richard was steamrolled by the sudden accusatory tone. He was struggling to find words for an appropriate defence.

 _Not that sitting it out this long was not already on my mind..._

"Don't be foolish, Richard. I am only here to offer you a way out. One that helps you strengthen our position more than weakening it."

"And I am grateful. Both for your consideration and for the hardships you have taken upon yourself, I am just... a little overwhelmed", he bent over the table, the one that was still crammed with maps and scrolls. "I don't know what is right anymore. I know I can't marry Alys, but I also know that accepting your proposal would be an offence Philip can't forgive me."

She gripped his shoulder, massaging it slightly.

"I am not asking you to marry her now. Not that you could in the middle of lent anyway. But use the time to learn to know her, then decide. For your kingdom's and for your own sake."

 _She always had a way to make her decisions mine. Yes, of course I wanted to get out of my betrothal, I always did. But this... had the worst possible timing. Slighting Philip could jeopardize not only my crusade, not only my alliance, but my friendship with him as well. But my mother was right. Dragging it out would cause the same, wouldn't it? And after all the miles she travelled, after she was dragged into this business that was not hers, I couldn't send the poor girl home, could I?_

As a matter not only of entertainment, but of status, the arrival of the highborn ladies was celebrated with a tourney covering several days on a field outside Messina. Whatever Richard tried to accomplish by watching knights beating each other bloody as a first date, it didn't help that much. While they were sitting on the isle, Richard was too focused on keeping his head free of politics to do more than absorbing the spectacle. Berengaria, obviously too polite to call him a bore, was instead entertained by Joan. Philip declined attending the tourney for obvious reasons and Eleanor retreated after the opening, apparently trying to give Richard more room to play the dashing knight. Instead he watched how his sister tore down language barriers and befriended the Spanish princess in no time.

 _At least someone who would gladly call her sister... it was this moment that I knew that I couldn't talk freely to her if I was still hiding from Philip. And yes, I know it was a childish thought, that I needed his permission to talk with a girl, but if I didn't, I knew both my mind and my tongue would be entangled by worries._

"Excuse my sudden intrusion", Richard apologized upon entering Philip's solar. "I hope you are not too busy."

The young King of France was bending over his desk, seemingly brooding over his accounts. When he looked up, his eyes narrowed.

"You have some nerve to show up like this", he growled.

"After you declined the invitation to the tourney, how else should I find the moment to speak with you in private?"

"Not at all", was his blunt answer.

Richard sighed.

"Trust my words, you are not the only one taken by surprise", he gave a faint chuckle.

"How should I trust the words of a so-called knight who promises with his mouth while his hands are already plotting against me?"

"There is no plot, Philip!", the English king insisted. "It's just that... my mother tries to..."

 _In my mind, I had exercised this discussion countless times, but right here bearing Philip's intense judging look, my words failed me._

"Very well. I shouldn't be surprised", he sneered. "You talked circles around this topic before and you continue to do so. You see, I'm not only thinking about our bloodlines and the friendship of our kingdoms. I fear for my sweet sister who must be truly heartbroken for being treated like this."

 _Even though I suspected he himself is the hardbroken one, surely he wouldn't find such a match again for a girl disgraced by my father._

"I just... can't... you know the reason as well as I do", Richard grimaced.

Philip made a dismissing motion with his hands.

"Go on, then. Do whatever you feel like doing. Like it was always your way. Without any consideration of the consequences."

"What about you, then?"

"Me? Well, I intend to leave as soon as the wind turns", his hand strafed over the map in front of him. "The Holy Land, home, both are valid options for me."

"You took an oath to bear the cross", Richard reminded him sullenly.

"As much as you took an oath to bear with my sister's hand", Philip countered darkly. "But you are right, I should prove myself better than your likes..."

He didn't follow up upon this and Richard had no intention to press his luck even more. And yet he could do nothing more than just standing in this chamber, staring at his old friend going through the preparations of his departure.

"What are you waiting for? You got what you came here for", he snarled after a while of silence.

 **Einzbern, 2006**

 _Awkward_ , was Sabrina's first thought upon awakening.

For some reason she had assumed jumping into the life of the Lionheart would result in an endless string of battles leading to an awfully early demise. But now she understood why he insisted that 'fighting is easy', guessing that he threw himself regularly into danger to escape those personal politics.

 _And he hasn't even managed to get to the crusade..._

Anyway, she had to focus on the present for now. They were inviting guests and she to present them the plan she had cooked up in the meantime. It was certainly not perfect and there was still some possibility of failure, but it should prove more effective than just charging onto the motorway and hoping for the best.

A little more than one hour later, the doorbell rang and indeed Kai stood in front of her door. Now he looked a little suspicious as if he feared she would slam the door into his face, but Sabrina dismissed such a mean-spirited thought immediately and offered him to enter.

"Good morning", he said.

"Good morning to you too. Let's get this over with."

She led him to the living room where Saber was already seated on the couch. Looking at the crimson knight she was reminded that her ally was not alone either.

"Better let him switch into corporeal form. No secrets, remember?", she stated, not being able to suppress the annoyed tone in her voice.

"Oh, right...", was his haphazard answer.

A second later, the giant of blue and gold appeared amidst the swirling air. He was glaring at Saber with a dead serious face. Upon his materialization, Saber himself set up from the couch and returned the stare with his own. Sabrina couldn't help but think that something was off. It was like both were attached to stretched strings and if they were cut, they would immediately jump at each other's throats. The tension was unbearable.

At least until Saber burst into hearty laughter.

"You have caused quite a mess, my Egyptian friend"; he mused.

Archer gave a grim shrug.

"If it had been in his power, the king would have preferred to prevent the events to unfold like they did."

With a sudden air of familiarity, the two spirits seated themselves. Sabrina and Kai joined soon after.

 _The hell was this supposed to be?_

"So... I have asked you to come because what you said made me uneasy as well. If there is a Heroic Spirit running around draining people of their life, we need to step in and soon", Sabrina turned towards dreadful Archer. "What additional information do you have gathered?"

"Apart from the obvious... it is a male Rider of great renown. One of his Noble Phantasms seems to be the sword he used to destroy the bridge."

"According to a classmate who witnessed him, he looks somewhat Asian", Kai chimed in. "And regarding the sword, I got the impression that it has some kind of... ah, I'd say metaphysical approach to killing stuff. Thing is, he didn't even need to touch the bridge or fire a projectile at it. He just made it collapse on its own."

Sabrina gulped.

"Sounds dangerous. Can you handle something like this, Saber?"

The knight grimaced and gave a shrug. Sabrina sensed he didn't care that much. He had to, if he must.

"And you?", she turned to Archer.

"A weapon so powerful must have some kind of drawback. Elsewise he surely would have used it directly against the king."

 _At least something. So he can't just spam this joker and murder us all... I just hope that in the worst case he'll use it against Archer first..._

Having already made her preparations, Sabrina presented a map of Einzbern from under the table. It showed the entirety of the motorway that was about to become their battlefield.

"Where did you start your chase?"

It was Kai who took it first.

"We started from the hospital where we met Daniel... here", he pointed at a lone place in the woods. "Then we followed the road towards this entry here and..."

He looked questioningly at Archer, who nodded.

"Considering the speed of our travel, the king and Nab Kai must have confronted Rider somewhere here", he made a circling motion around a part of the track quite a few miles away from their entry point.

"It doesn't look to me like there are many exit points around that part", Sabrina observed.

"Indeed", said the pharaoh. "The king believes that he has no stationary lookout point for his hunt, but instead joins the flow of the vehicles."

Sabrina groaned. That would make things a lot more complicated.

"Well, Saber and I have talked quite a lot about how we approach something like this...", she admitted.

"We are listening", was Kai's reply.

"Thanks... well, we thought it would be possible to trap him from two directions. Since Archer apparently has a vehicle, we thought he could start a chase like the one he did yesterday."

"But if there are two attackers, Rider will sense the trap", Kai objected.

"Yeah, Saber said as much. But I think he wouldn't if we started our part of the chase on the other side of the Ring. You see, a Servant's perceptiveness is not without limits. If you can make him focus on the chase only, we come from the other side and force him to either stop or leave the road."

Kai seemed unsure.

"How? Archer spoke of some kind of 'Riding' ability. Will you lent Saber your bike or something?"

The knight snorted in amusement.

"A terrific thought... but a Heroic Spirit is fast even without a steed... and has more than enough strength at his disposal."

Sabrina pointed at the map.

"This part of the track is far away from any highly frequented exits. I thought Saber could wait there for you to chase the enemy into his arms. Taking the traffic in account he can either use Excalibur or try to intercept him on foot."

"With his entire focus on the interception, the son of Sekhmet won't be able to protect his Nab from outside attackers", Archer interjected.

She grimaced. He struck right at the core of the problem.

"We also thought this is highly dangerous. And we only found one resolution..."

Sabrina avoided how much she struggled against Saber's proposal, how much he needed to talk her out of her doubts and objections. But in the end, she knew that they had to go through with it. For the sake of all those, who were dragged into this Grail business and didn't got blessed with a Servant to protect them.

"I need to accompany you on your ride...", she finally admitted.

Kai blinked in surprise.

"What? I mean, I... don't think we have enough room-"

"Sure", Archer interrupted. "If the king takes the reins himself, there should be no problem."

His Master's face fell. It seemed he had further objections.

"You are sure you want to suffer through that hellish ride?"

"Not that I have much choice if we want to succeed... You see, should Archer happen to lose me on our way, Saber will come back and avenge me."

"Ha! Certainly!", Richard grinned as if he was looking forward to it.

"Do you often threaten your taxi driver?", Kai asked dubiously.

"Only those I consider dangerous", Sabrina chirped. "So... this was our take on the situation. Do you have any adjustments or alternative plans?"

Kai looked at the map and took a deep breath. The way he looked at it with question marks in his eyes, he didn't seem close to come up with anything of worth. At last he sighed.

"Fine. Let's do it like you propose. I guess we should start the chase here, on the other side of Saber's position."

Sabrina nodded after looking where he pointed at.

"If we are fast enough, we can prevent any confusion like you did yesterday. We strike fast, we block his retreat and force him into the woods. From there on, we can fight on our own terms."

"Sounds like a plan!"

With that, they set out only few minutes later. Sabrina had not forgotten her previous doubts, but if there is anything she had learned over the course of the last day, it was that getting paranoid over suspicions as vague as hers would prevent her from doing what had to be done. For the moment, she decided it was the best course of action to embrace their alliance and make full used of it. And this way, both Masters and both Servants set out to fight their first battle side by side.


	17. Chapter 16 - Rider

Hello and welcome back to my humble tale! This time I have to apologize for two things at once. First, I know, a last chapter of setup for the upcoming clash with Rider. I guess I went a little overboard with the whole 'build-up of tension' thing, instead dragging this whole storyline out. Nevertheless, I want you to see things from Rider's perspective and hope he doesn't seem too alien to you.

Second apology is for the monstrous size of this chapter. Word count is somewhere above 14.000 now. If you have trouble swallowing so much, feel free to write it in the reviews. While I do think that his story is best served as one continued to tale, I also have no problem with splitting it somewhere.

Well then, have fun!

* * *

Chapter 16 - Rider

 **Campi Catalauni, 451AD**

The man who was about to become Rider looked over the large plains in front of him. His instincts sharpened by a life of campaigning told him that this was not a site advantageous to him. At least it was also not advantageous to his enemies. Yet. The only place of remark amidst the grassy fields was a small hill to his left side. A hill which was much closer to the enemy campsite than his own. And while he watched it, he already saw a column of warriors claiming it for themselves. If he wanted to strike hard and mortally, he needed to route those on the left and sweep down into the rear of his enemy. He squinted his eyes and tried to make out some hints to the identity of his foe, since the true enemy was without a doubt hiding behind his allies. Among rising dust he was able to recognize spearmen and round shields with markings remarkably similar to those of his own allies.

 _King Theodoric..._

He grunted in acknowledgement of his confirmed suspicions. He already knew who would get the task of smashing these Visigoths. Even though this knowledge was partly due to a lack of other options. He usually would have trusted Ardarich to do such a job swiftly and effectively, but his Gepid warriors had fought through the whole night to shield his retreat when the enemy threatened to fall upon his unaware warriors during the pillage of the city Aureliana. His men were tired and their losses were considerable. Rider hesitated to send them into the brunt of battle again, so instead he ordered them to join his Germanic allies on the right flank to screen their advance.

"Valamir, take the left and make haste for the hill", he ordered bluntly.

"Aye, it will be done", the young Ostrogoth replied with a smirk and drove his horse into a gallop to address his men.

Rider was accompanied by a crop of kings and noblemen of many tribes when he surveyed the battlefield. They call themselves Principes, but at the end of the day they obeyed his commands trembling with fear. They were vassals, swept up by his great host, deciding to join them instead of fighting and dying for nothing. The warlord who was about to become Rider now dismissed them with a brusque nod before returning his attention to the battlefield. The dust brought up by the marching armies had now nearly completely subsided in the enemy centre and he was able to make out the ranks and lines marching through the plains. He saw the brightly coloured oval shields. He saw the throwing spears stuck behind them. He saw the chainmail shimmering in the sunlight... and he saw the golden eagles flying above these men. Anger swelled in his chest. The picture of a grey haired old man in a rustic muscled armor appeared in his head.

 _Aetius..._

He found it surprising how the ambitions of two simple men can spring rivers of blood. The warlord himself, despite his terrible reputation, was a simple man. He didn't care much for land and titles and politics. All he valued was a belly full of food and wine and a safe home to sleep in. He went to great lengths to make these comforts possible for his people... and he also made sure that every life lost was weighed up with a fortune of plunder. He regarded Flavius Aetius as his polar opposite... and the old man likely thought the same of him. But all personal feelings aside, the warlord was not a fool. Aetius lived for years among his people. He knew their strategies... and he knew how to counter them.

 _He is the only one who can possibly stop us. Go for the hill, Valamir. I count on you. But Aetius is mine and mine alone._

He turned his horse around and rode straight to the centre of his lines. This was his place. The centre of his hordes, the core of his kingship. These fierce warriors on horseback were his people, his birthright. A birthright that had cost him a brother, no matter how worthless that one was. But even then, they were more than that. He knew these warriors, many of them by name. He grew up among them, destined to lead. He travelled with them all over Europa. He shared the hardships of campaigning with them. He spilled blood with them... and watched many of them bleeding to death on various battlefields. These were the ways of his people. They followed to death and destruction, but they followed only those who were achieving victory. Victory and plunder. And the man who was about to become Rider, was not one to let them down.

The warlord knew that if he managed to defeat Aetius, he would have cut off the factual head of the Roman Empire. His army wouldn't just open up all of Gallia to plunder. Italy itself would have been ripe for sacking. Rome itself would bow to his people. And the meek Emperor would shower him in gold so that he wouldn't pillage precious Ravenna. But for that he needed to win and kill Aetius first. And for that he needed to bring in his entire force of arms. The man who was about to become Rider raised his spear into the air and addressed his warriors with a simple salute:

"Here you stand, conquerors of peoples, oppressors of the world!"

A wave of boastful laughter echoed through the plains. The warlord himself joined them with a soft chuckle.

"It is not right for me to say anything you already know, nor ought you to listen. For what is war but our usual custom? Now look at them! See, even before our attack they are smitten with terror. They seek the heights, they try to seize the hills and clamor for protection against battle in the open fields. But it is for naught. Let us bring the battle to them. Now on to the fray with stout hearts, as is your wont! Attack the Alani, smite the Visigoths! Seek swift victory in that spot where the battle rages! Even a mass of federated nations could not endure the sight of us, the mighty Huns! Come on then, here is the field so many victories have promised us! Follow me! To blood and glory! I will hurl the first spear at the foe and if anyone dares to stand at rest while Attila fights, I will come back and kill him!"

And with these words, he rode forth and the Huns followed. The sound of hooves shattering the ground echoed through the plains. And soon enough the Scourge of God was riding at full speed across the green field, the entire might of his apocalyptic riders in his back. Thousands upon thousands of horsemen. A black wave screaming death and destruction, threatening to swallow all those who dared standing against them.

 _Come on, Aetius. Come show me how these old bones of yours could withstand me!_

And thus started the charge of Attila the Hun. He may have been the first reaching the enemy lines where the Romans stood at attention with their shields locked, but his spear was not the first to reach the enemy. Bowstrings wheezed behind him and the sky was darkened by deadly arrows. The Legionaries raised they shields, but these were not the tight formations of days long past. These soldiers were equipped to fight their enemies in single combat, something their predecessors would have only sneered at. Having studied their history, Attila wasn't sure how he would have handled one such legion at their prime, but he surely knew how to beat this one by softening it up and then breaking it. These shields were worthless, they could have defended themselves with scrolls of papyrus for the same effect. A Hun bowman could easily penetrate them from a mile away. For any arrow which ineffectively struck the ground, another one found flesh. Attila saw shields going down and being replaced by others during his entire charge. Not as many as he hoped for, but enough to tell his enemy what they had to await.

"Let it rain, conquerors! Shower them in the rain of war!"

The moment he bellowed these words, it was like the wrong side obeyed the command. When he looked up, he saw the number of arrows in the sky increasing, but those went into the wrong direction. Archers from behind the Roman lines had opened their fire. Attila knew these arrows passing over his head were about to claim Hun lives. He heard the pitiful screams of horses drowning out those of their riders. But he ignored them, pressing onwards with all haste.

"Falter and die, Roman scum!", he yelled.

He reached the enemy line. Close enough to see the fear in the eyes of those cowering behind their shields. The Scourge of God put all his strength into his arm, throwing his spear out of full gallop. Attila barely saw it passing the shields, but he had no time to watch whether it had hit or not. The Romans had formed quite a formidable wall of spears and shields which was blocking his way. His horse shied away from it, but even if the animal was insane enough to charge it, the warlord knew it would have been suicide at this point of the battle. So instead he wheeled his horse around and rode parallel to the enemy lines, already preparing his bow which had been strapped across his shoulders until then. When he readied his first arrow, he had the chance to glance behind him and saw how his horde followed his track. Thousands upon thousands of horsemen, riding circles in front of the enemy lines, loosing arrow upon arrow all the while.

 _This should be more than enough to roughen them up._

He joined the circle for a quarter of a turn before he left it again. Behind his first wave more riders had gathered. Huns in name only. A ragtag force of different tribes his horde had swept up. But tribes which had more experience fighting close combat. The Huns themselves preferred to riddle their enemy with arrows or to catch single foes with robes and drag them to a screaming death. Attila would not waste their lives in a frontal charge.

"Follow me!", he yelled. "To victory!"

And with that, the second wave came crashing through the muddy plains which had lost all their green under the hooves of the Riders of Apocalypse. When the circling Hun warriors passed in front of them the next time, the charging horsemen came already crashing into the Roman lines. A clatter of steel and wood, of screams and blood and dying breaths. Fighting was intense. Attila himself tried to push through the Roman line, cutting footsoldiers down left and right.

 _Where are you, old man? Death is already looking for you!_

Aetius was nowhere in sight. Instead the spearmen closed in, threatening to encircle them. Wherever he looked, pointy spears were drawn together. He saw many of his riders pulled from their horses.

 _Too many... still too bloody many._

"Back behind our lines!", he yelled. "Prepare for another charge!"

Speed was of the essence, speed was their one major advantage. The riders reformed their ranks with fluid haste and swept into the enemy once more. The corpses of beasts and men started to pile up, forcing their horses to step around them, but as of yet they were barely slowed down. And yet it was infuriating. Each time the Romans seemed to waver, only for them to tighten their formation and close the gaps between their lines. Attila charged once again, twice again, thrice again. But each time they were repelled. And each time he sensed the spirit of his riders decrease.

 _Craven bastards..._

As their violent wave once more broke against the rock of the enemy formation, another rider joined them. An Ostrogoth warrior who frantically forced his way towards their leader.

"My king! My king!", he yelled against the cacophony of screams and battle clatter. "King Attila, I beg of you, Princeps Valamir is in dire need of you!"

"He can go fuck himself", Attila shouted back. "I am in dire need of a Roman head myself."

"But my king... Thorismund's forces broke our ranks. The wagon fortress is under siege! We are about to loose the entire left flank!"

Attila realized the danger pointed out to him so desperately. And yet he couldn't abandon his chance for total victory.

"To hell with him. I don't need a left flank if I break the enemy's spine right here", he turned back to his tired riders. "You see them wavering, you see them faltering! Once more, I dare you! Once more and strike them down with all your fury!"

It was the last charge of the Scourge of God. Hundreds of screaming warriors crashed into the enemy formation, driving the Romans backwards. Attila was deep in the fray, cutting down men with his accursed sword in a frenzy. But a frenzy that was blinding him. Far too late he realized how few of his riders were able to keep up with him. How fast their attack slowed down to a halt. Attila's warriors were too exhausted and their numbers too few to accomplish any more ground. And the Romans soon saw their advantage, pushing them even further back, regaining their ground. A cursing Attila drove his horse around before a spear found its neck and retreated. And while he was retreating, he saw even more Romans climbing the hill to reinforce the position of their comrades.

 _By Tengri's accursed arse! Where do those troops keep coming from?_

He was still on a higher position than the surrounding fields. With keen eyes he scanned the area and saw his warriors crumbling wherever he looked, even though the sun hung low and coloured the battlefield in a bloody red. Defeat seemed imminent. He failed to break the enemy's neck and in his attempt of doing so, he lost the moment to win the battle in a dozen different ways. Now there was only one direction for him to go.

"To Valamir!", he yelled towards the retreating troops. "To the left! Our time is short!"

 _And our time might soon be over..._

It was a crushing defeat. Their banners had decreased to a pitiful number when they assembled at the wagon fortress this night. So many were killed. Attila, the man who made his horsemen even more fearsome by claiming those fortified cities which in the past seemed invincible to them, now found himself besieged. Surrounded by the Romans and only a thin line of makeshift wooden defences between them and certain death, Attila realized that in this moment the old man Aetius must have been snickering at the irony.

 _They will be upon us at sunrise..._ , he realized during his inspection of the enemy campfires.

Countless small lights were scattered around them at all sides. A great sense of dread claimed the warlord's heart upon this realization. He failed them. All these men who promised to follow him to death and destruction... They should never have followed him to their own doom. They were his brothers in arms, his birthright... and they followed only those who guaranteed success.

"Build a pyre!", he ordered in a fit of madness. "Build a pyre to drown all of those bastards out there out! They shall see what fiery hell awaits them here!"

His warriors complied. Everything that was not needed for fortifications was brought to the centre of the camp and piled up to a great heap. They at first seemed to think that it was a clever ploy to make the Romans think they have to fight a much larger force in the morrow. It dawned only upon few of them when they observed their king gazing into the roaring flames with desperation written upon his eyes. It would take him only few steps...

"No! My king, don't!", it was Valamir who was the first who threw himself upon his warlord.

After the young man was violently tackled to the ground, more warriors took heart and blocked his way. They clasped to him at arms, torso and legs. Countless arms full of bruises and drenched in blood. They had fought with him and now they turned their backs on him.

"Let me go!", Attila roared with tears flowing down his face. "Let me die with my banners! Let me! Let me! Let me..."

Unable to overcome the strength of all those men at once, the great Attila sunk to the ground.

"It is not over yet", he heard the voice of Valamir. "It is not over until one man still has air in his lungs."

"It will be over soon enough", Attila sobbed miserably.

"What of it? After all you've accomplished, after all you did to our people. Is it not your wish to breath your last breath putting Romans to the sword? The odds seem absurd, but you have brought us through it when there was even more to loose. And even if we die tomorrow: What of it? After all, we die how we lived."

Attila didn't reply. He nodded slightly, realizing how different his warriors interpreted the situation they had found themselves in.

"One last battle", he whispered. "For I am Attila and I owe you this much."

The men surrounding him were sighing in relieve, even though some of them didn't loosen their grip afraid a sudden change of mind on their liege's part. But Attila was calm now. The madness had subsided. He was now staring into the flames at ease...

... looking forward to a battle which never came. When the sun rose and drenched the plains around them in an eerie orange, all they've found were the burned down embers of the fires they had witnessed the night before. The Romans were gone. Their allies were gone. The Huns were alone with the dead they had left behind. The men cheered for their unexpected turn of fortune, even though their king was never the same as before.

And the raiding was never as before. Much later Attila heard the truth that the Visigoth king was slain on the battlefield and Aetius didn't follow up on his victory because he had to make sure his replacement would be someone indebted to him. Others however mused that he was playing a dangerous game to keep the disgraced Huns around for whenever he needed an enemy able to scare the empire into his able hands. Attila tried to get back at the old man, but times had changed. Oddly enough, the cowardice of the Imperials succeeded in denying him any pretence for war. Whatever he asked for, they clambered to get it for him. And even in the one time he managed to get a casus belli, their goddess of fortune proved intend on ridiculing him. When the Huns were confronted by that pompous geezer who called himself pope, their ranks were already thinned by a terrible disease, forcing them back over the Alps.

Sometimes Attila really had to wonder whether it was better if he had died back in that pile. Or at least a bile fascination for fire had grown within him. He barely recognized the festive commotion around him as he was gazing into the flame in front of him. Everybody was back in high spirits, drinking and jesting and laughing. And they were right to do so, since it was a day of celebration. To seal the merging with another tribe, Attila was about to be married to that frightful little creature that sat at his side. But since he was only able to brood over the pointlessness of the gesture, he was in no mood to share in the fun his men had. He needed her brother's army, not another bride. Therefore he was just sitting there at the head of the table, drinking and looking into the hearth fires.

After the merry atmosphere had evolved into ribald dancing and jesting, the warlord had enough of it. In one sudden motion, he raised up. Immediately everyone turned silent, watching him in awaiting of some kind of announcement, even though Attila at first just blinked in surprise of how much his head was spinning.

"You have been quiet, my king", said Ardaric, urging in jest. "Please, bless us with your wisdom!"

"My wisdom, you say", the warlord snarled, raising his cup to empty it in one deep gulp. "Very well."

He observed all of them who had gathered at the banquet in the long hall, how all of them were staring back at him. His principes and generals had gathered of course...

"My trusted generals", he adressed them. "Ardaric, Valamir. You have attested your loyalty to me in countless battles. If there is anyone here daring to say otherwise, I will personally split him in half."

A wave of roars and cheers echoed through the hall. Especially the Gepids and Goths were raising their cups to the toast, even though some of the other peoples watched the scene warily.

"And yet I cannot help but wonder how much of that loyalty belongs to our good cause and what is just our success so far. The way this rotting carcass of an army stumbles onwards in search for new plunder and more corpses to feast upon... Tell me, how large does the bribe need to be to make you sing our Hunnic songs and keep you from returning to sing the ones of your own people's past glory?"

Valamir looked properly ashamed at Attila's sudden question, but Ardaric only narrowed his eyes. Before they were able to answer, the warlord turned towards his sons. Three young men, some more able than another, but all of them tired of his gathering of allies and eager to prove themselves in battle.

"Ah, Ellac, Ernak, Dengizich. Pride of my loins!", he waved with his drink towards them, spilling some of it into the fire and making the flames cackling menacingly. "For a warrior it is admirable to have greed in his eyes, but I am aghast to find them looking not towards Roman soil, but towards my own body instead. Do not deny it, I already hear you counting the days until my death. But be assured. Even death itself will not keep my wrath at bay if I have to hear about you tearing apart my men."

A long moment of silence stretched out, making Attila hear only his own ragged breathing while he was facing down his guests. He couldn't quite grasp whether they were shocked about his sharp words or just afraid that he wouldn't stop at words to cut people.

It was finally Valamir, who rose up from his seat.

"My lord. It was a long day of tiresome feasting. I hope you see that all the boys have been looking forward to seeing their liege seal this pact of his with all the due clamor. If you know what I'm getting at", the warrior king hid his uneasiness admirably under a boyish grin.

Attila looked just back and forth between his vassal and the drink in his hand before he allowed himself to give a soft sigh.

"Why do you always have to be right...", he wanted to make a point out of it by spilling the rest of his drinking cup into the fire, only to find out that there wasn't more than a couple of drops left.

With a morose expression he turned towards his anxious young bride.

"I guess it is our turn now, my dear."

She looked up at him with big, watery eyes. Panic clearly written all over them. Since she remained seated, Attila feared she wasn't getting the hint.

"This means I am going to fuck you!", he gave a dark chuckle, offering his hand to help her up onto her feet.

They were indeed a strange couple. The young bride walked nearly as uneasily as her husband, as they waded through the cheery crowd that had sprung up to accompany them to their tent and yell bawdy jokes at them while they were at it. And while his bride was busy deciding whether clinging to him to escape their jests was worth lowering her guard towards the man who dragged her towards her wedding night, Attila had more and more trouble keeping up the brisk walking pace he had actually intended to walk. His vision blurred and his headache that was initially dimmed by the alcohol, now returned to him with a vengeance. He had to stop to take breath, even though he hadn't even reached the door yet. It took his men a while to realize that something was amiss. At first they must have been suspecting he was preparing another incoherent rambling. But instead he put his hand on his forehead and frowned at the realization how ridiculously hot was. Breathing hardly, he drove his fingers through his beard and when he looked at them afterwards, he saw that they were smeared with blood.

 _Since when do I have a nosebleed?_

The headache increased, he was barely able to keep a single thought straight. He only knew that he was going to suffocate inside. He let go of his bride and tackled a couple of guests out of his way. The door was close, he just needed to reach it somehow. His nosebleed was bad, some of the blood must have run back down into his mouth even. His throat tasted like iron, he felt the pus gathering there.

"Open the door!", he ordered, half a yell and half a cough.

The guards did as they were told. The heavy wooden doors swung to the side and opened the way towards the cold night air. Even then, it was no good. With mouth and nose both filled with blood, it was a great struggle to take even a single, deep breath. He was long past suspecting a simple nosebleed. He coughed up red bubbles in a violent fit that turned worse with every second. The crowd gathering around him, staring in disbelief, shocked by his face that looked like he had taken a grievous wound.

 _Poison... someone is killing me! How? Who?_

He couldn't stumble onwards anymore. He went to his knees and sunk to the ground. All the while coughing ever more violently. His whole body was strained, he placed his near exploding forehead on the muddy ground. He was the mighty Attila. And yet he knew this was a battle he couldn't fight. All he could hope for was that Tengri had still some use for him and gave his body a chance to fight on its own.

 _No... good... not... at all..._

There were still battles to fight. The old man Aetius wasn't prone to just fall over like this. Attila still had to finish what he had started.

 _Please... just... one... more... battle! Aetius!_

His entire body was shaking under the stress of his continued coughing. His throat was already sore, but no matter much he threw up, the blood was still dense enough to choke him.

 _My promise... Not... like... this..._

And with these thoughts, the great warlord closed his eyes forever. He could still hear the soft murmurs of his men and a cringing shriek of his bride. But even that faded when the darkness had finally swallowed him. This was strange. This was different. In this moment time stretched out to infinity and yet stopped to exist at all, Attila found himself in a state of bliss and nothingness at once. He knew that it was death, he knew that because he couldn't feel his mortal body anymore. And yet he found it difficult to care. For there was no thought he could form in this state. He was at peace. At least for a while. Eternity seemed to take up a little pace after all. He didn't know how much time had passed, if it had passed at all. But his consciousness was suddenly active again. Attila was still unable to make sense of his situation since said consciousness was just like a single lonely thought amidst utter nothingness. But it contained a question.

"Do you have any regrets?"

He didn't know where it came from and who it was who asked it, if there was anyone asking at all. For some reason Attila just assumed it was a question that needed a reply. He put all his effort into thinking up the answer. Even though it was pure thought, forming each word was tedious work. One that made a single emotion flare up. Spite.

"I regret not having put Aetius' head on a spike."

It felt good to have formed this thought. But it also felt refreshing to return into his previous state of blissful ignorance. He was nearly ready to let go of his consciousness and return to the darkness when he suddenly heard a voice reaching him. A young male voice, obviously amused in a very twisted manner.

"Sounds great", it said. "How about fighting for the chance to do just that?"

He didn't need to form an answer for that. The very fact that his consciousness ruptured as if in action was answer enough. After all, fighting was something he did in all of his life. That's were he excelled it. If there are battles to be fought in oblivion, he knew that this was his true place. And through this force of will, his consciousness took on shape again. A rupture was sent through the afterlife as a single determination was born. And this determination was immediately overcome with conflicting knowledge. This place existed outside of time, so it was all too natural that he received not only his memories of the past, but glimpses of the past, present and future of not only one world, but of a net of possibilities. This hardened mind of a hero shielded itself from the confusion by focusing on the only quest that mattered right now.

 _I was called many names. Atli, Etzel, Aetla. Names as numerous as the people I ruled. I was the Red Rider, the Harbinger of War, the Scourge of God. The land shall shatter, the women shall weep, the men shall shudder. Because I, Attila, have returned!_

And with that, he started to regain his senses. He started to feel. Something that should be impossible for a shapeless consciousness. But Attila was aware that this time was over now. There finally was something to feel after all. And as soon as he had become aware of this fact, a blinding light filled his vision. Reborn into the world, the King of the Huns opened his eyes. A flash of senses overwhelmed him. His ears were ringing with the chirping of birds, his left hand was throbbing at the feel of the wooden bow he held with it and his skin was prickling with the sensation of a soft warm breeze caressing it. He felt his lungs heaving with every breath.

 _Was the world always so vivid? Or were my senses only so dull?_

Attila shook his head. He needed to orientate himself. This was Earth... he was back in the world and for some reason he knew that he found himself in a forest somewhere in southern Germania. Certainly a lot has changed. He remembered how tedious it was to cross those dense primeval forests which were dotted with deadly swamps. Here the trees stood far apart, light was shining through their crowns and down upon the silver circle Attila was standing on. These trees were certainly kept in check by some forester, a city must have been close by.

 _Einzbern._

The name suddenly appeared in his head. He was unable to grasp where this knowledge came from. Certainly, his head was filled strange and conflicting facts. Trivia about technological progress, about religion, about political changes. A lot of time had passed, more than 1600 years. This world was utterly alien to him and yet there was an uncanny familiarity with all of it.

Attila shook his head. He had more than enough time to worry about this later. He just knew that he was summoned to fight for his wish and that his summoner was nowhere to see. Something must have went wrong, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Right now, he had to find him and seal his contract. Therefore he closed his eyes and focused on his Master's presence nearby. It was then that a hot sting went through his heart.

 _Danger!_

There was an enemy nearby. He had barely arrived and battle seemed already inevitable. With a curse on his lips, Attila dashed towards his Master. He was himself surprised about how fast the forest flew through past his vision. His steps were fast and more powerful than a human had any right to have. So it took him only seconds until his Master came into his view. Attila had arrived at the edge of a steep ridge, overlooking a small paved road which crossed the woods beneath him. On that road he saw two people. A boy on a wheeled seat and a woman in white garb who casually pushed him onwards. From a distance Attila couldn't quite say which one was his Master, but it didn't matter at this moment. Somewhere behind them a pack of ferocious black wolfs were closing in fast. Both people seemed completely unaware and there was barely time to reach them.

Therefore Attila readied his bow. For the fraction of a second he was startled to realize that his equipment didn't come with a quiver at his hip. But the very moment he instinctively tried to draw one, an arrow appeared in his hand with a small flash. Without wasting any more time, Attila drew the bow. It went absurdly easy. The warlord lived for fighting, he and his bow were inseparable and he never thought it an effort to use it to begin with. But with his enhanced strength the bow felt like a toy in his hands. Acknowledging this fact, Attila loosened and the arrow darted onwards in a nearly linear path. Without any delay, it pierced the eyes of one of those wolves, sending it tumbling to the ground. In the meantime Attila had already shot the second arrow. And the third. And the fourth. From there on, it was a quick staccato of deadly shots, thinning the ranks of the attackers considerably. When the last creature went to the ground, his Master, whoever of the two it was, remained in complete ignorance of the battle which had been fought behind their backs.

Grinning about his newfound strength, Attila slid down the slope, furrowing through brown leaves and dirt. He still couldn't say who his Master was, but something told him that it would have been a mistake to show himself in front of someone who isn't involved in the fighting. Even though those creatures were obviously less hesitating to involve them. And they wouldn't leave without a fight. A new wave of magical beasts had taken up shape and encircled their prey from all sides. Attila knew that time was short. He resorted to using only those soundless ordinary arrows which had proven to be adequately lethal for the task at hand. Manifesting and shooting them in quick succession, he stealthily moved through the forest where it was thickest and where the leaves obscured the view upon him. With his heightened senses, it was also possible for him to avoid hitting any branches and make suspicious sounds while he was sniping those creatures who came too close to his Master. Of course his advance wasn't perfect. A couple of times the woman looked with a frown towards the subdued screams of some of the creatures. She wasn't able to see much more than the last traces of black smoke which the evaporating beasts left behind with each demise. But he himself remained in the shadows until their enemy apparently lost the nerve to further press his lost initiative.

After having ensured the immediate safety of his Master, Attila let go of his corporeal form to save his resources. It was an unwelcome reminder that death was indeed a lasting process and that the world was set on correcting its mistake of his continued existence. He didn't exerted himself through this short stunt very much, but he could feel the tiny hole in his chest left behind by this little of mana he had consumed. Every action he took, every arrow he manifested, he had to buy all this with an apparently set amount of life force.

 _This isn't how it should work like. My summoner is supposed to supply me with mana. I shouldn't be worrying about it so much._

And yet he had to worry. Something went wrong during the summoning. He had to find out what it was and correct it. And fast. Therefore he quickly followed his Master until the two mortals arrived at a group of concrete buildings circumcised by walls, which was embedded into the forest. There was a tiny guard post at its front and the woman greeted the aged limitanei stationed there heartily before being waved through. Even from outside, Attila could say that it was a place sprawling with people.

 _A hospital..._

The word had suddenly popped up in his mind. For some reason he connected it with an institutionalized healing facility. It was part of this obscure knowledge sleeping in the back of his head.

 _So that's why this boy couldn't walk on his own..._

Attila gave a silent curse. If his Master was taking care of the wounded or wounded himself, it would prove troublesome to show himself. At the very least it would be unfeasible to confront these modern age Teutons with him in his riding armor. Not that he feared their ire since he was always a friend to their people, but just a precaution to not draw unwanted attention upon himself.

 _Since I have no coin and can't make my Master pay for my staying here... Damned that I can't just sack some place and be done with it without drawing too much attention upon myself. Gah, a king doesn't sneak around like a common thief..._

He realized aghast that he had no choice. In order to get to the closest marked place, Attila had to seek out the next city. Luckily the Teutons had adopted the Roman mileposts or at least an idea similar to it, since there were indeed self-explanatory signs pointing towards a city called "Einzbern", giving some precise distance measurements. The letters were certainly Latin, but it took him a moment to realize that the numbers were unfamiliar. A strange realization after he had read them so effortlessly before.

 _This damned Grail thing is messing with my head..._

He shook it to snap out of the confusion. His time was short, so he had to act accordingly. Knowing what he was capable of in this strange world, Attila gave a whistle. And pretty much in the same moment an abrupt thunder erupted from the forest, followed by one of his sturdy small horses galloping to his side.

"Good girl", Attila said while patting the animal at its neck, before he swung himself upon it.

The ride towards Einzbern was very short, but the search for a proper marked place proved more difficult. It was his mistake for looking out for a central forum and it took him far too long to realize that most of the arcades and shops snuck around the main road were not craftsmen's shops but indeed belonging to the salesmen he looked for.

 _At least the shopkeepers can't pay so much attention to each other this way._

He found a small shop which boasted an array of textiles in its window, even though Attila was still quite unsure what to make of it. He was a little startled by the bright colors and the lightness of the clothes which were apparently only useful for hot summer days.

 _To think that the Teutonics somehow absorbed the Eastern obsession with bright fabrics... urgh... a king shouldn't need to prowl through a market stand like this..._

There was little choice though and therefore he entered. When he tried to touch some of the things hung on the stands, he realized much to his dismay that in his spirit form he was unable to interact with anything on the mortal plane. After standing there dumbfounded for a couple of seconds he happened to witness a woman entering a small cabin at the back of the shop with a pair of trousers. Soon thereafter she returned wearing aforementioned trousers, looking at herself in the mirror.

The solution to his inconvenience seemed close at hand. After looking out that nobody was watching, Attila returned to the mortal plane and proceeded to empty several shelves. His behavior soon drew the attention of the frantic merchant who approached him with waving arms.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?", he shouted.

Attila turned around and glared at him, a pile of shirts thrown over his shoulder. Admittedly, he was not able to look quite as menacing as he used to due to the shop owner towering above him, but seeing the warlord in his garb of boiled leather and a sword at his side did make him take a step backwards upon further consideration.

"I need them to check which one fits", he graciously told him his reasoning.

"Might be, but if you have difficulty finding your size, I can help you with that", the merchant replied with a dark frown.

"No need for that", Attila evaded, putting a pile of black trousers on top of the shirts before marching off to the cabin.

Getting rid of his riding armor, he tried to put on this and that, only to soon loose his patience. As if the merchant had warned him with his judgment, everything he tried on was far too wide to be a proper fit. But keeping in mind the small amount of time he had, he couldn't waste more of it. Wearing a bad fit of loose shirt and trousers, Attila used his spirit form to drag the textiles covering his body into a different plane of existence and thus left the shop unseen and yet properly garbed for this unknown age.

 _Gah, sneaking around like a common thief..._

The ride back to the hospital was short and uneventful. Of course he avoided the guard's eyes the same way, using his spirit form. Finding his Master was more difficult though. With no further clue about his whereabouts he had to rely solely on his Mana connection to him and yet this was only enough to give him a general direction. After pinning down the wing he must be stationed in through this method, he still had to go through all the rooms trying to find a familiar face. Ironically enough, he found one in the corridors. It was the woman wearing white garb he had seen in the forest. Seeing her now up close he observed her to be a homely woman of robust build. Now feeling more confident due to his time-appropriate dress, Attila materialized in a lonely corner and intercepted her.

"Greetings", he said, trying to get a glimpse at her right hand.

Her frown for some reason mirrored the one of the merchant from earlier.

"Good day. You look like you're lost. Can I help you?", she asked.

"Depends...", the warlord said evasively. "I am looking for a certain boy..."

"Ah, a visitor", she claimed, crossing her arms. "I'm nurse Hanna. If you tell me the station number they told you at the reception, I may be able to help you."

Attila had no intention to correct her notion. Due to the way her right hand rested on her left arm, he had a clear view upon the back of it, seeing that there was no command spell visible. His suspicion was confirmed when he sensed no mana flowing in from her. There was no connection to her, his Master was someone else.

"You are not able to help me. I don't want to bother you any further...", Attila replied grimly, trudging forward in order to find the boy.

"Am I? Well, if you say you know the direction..."

"I can find him myself."

And with this he left her in the corridor and followed the faint mana connection towards the room where his Master dwelled. Entering it, he found a thoroughly white chamber of depressing sterility. There were two beds in two adjacent corners, one of them uninhabited, while in the other one the boy sat upright with his eyes open and both his arms stretched out, resting on his blanket. Attila judged him to be no more than ten years old, even though his frail body could have influenced his view. He seemed untroubled by the stranger entering his room, staring rather sadly at the running TV hanging from the wall. When Attila approached him, he saw the red markings on the back of the boy's hand.

"Here you are", the warlord announced. "You are troublesome to find, you know that?"

The boy gave no answer.

"Anyway, I have to thank you for allowing me this chance", he knelt besides the bed, the way the boy was propped up made it easy to keep below him. "I hereby pledge my sword to your cause. You granted me life and a place at your hearth. So with this oath, you'll have the fealty of me and my warriors until we achieve the victory you crave."

He looked up with a sour expression on his face. Attila knew that something was wrong the moment he had stepped inside. And yet, here he knelt, doing the right thing. With a weary sigh he heaved his body up and went to fetch a chair to sit at his Master's side.

"You are apparently not of the talkative sort, eh? Ah well, me neither..."

Sitting down, he contemplated both his fate and the one of his Master. The boy didn't seem injured, but his arms were still connected to some plastic bottle hanging on a stand. His eyes were open and Attila had sometimes the impression that they twitched slightly, but never in reaction to him and his presence. A terrible fate must have befallen the boy, forcing him into this state of undead. But since he was still treated in this secluded place, there must have been still a chance for recovery. Everything else made no sense to him.

"You are getting me into a strange situation here...", Attila mused more to himself than to the boy.

At least his quest for the Grail and the wish that comes with it was somewhat simplified by having a Master who can't order him around.

"You know, I couldn't stand a Master who would make himself look like my liege lord. Yes, I am your guest in your time and have sworn an oath to fight for our mutual goal, but this doesn't make me your underling", he snickered darkly. "Back in my time there were half a dozen independent kings fighting alongside the Huns. They swore fealty to me, but they were still kings and were treated like that. And to me, they were companions more than anything."

He wasn't sure whether he had hoped to have a similar relationship with his Master, regretting his current freedom, or preferred to act in his own pace. Before he could contemplate over his next steps and what strategy would be preferable for this strange world, the door to the boy's room swung open and a woman in white entered.

"Oh, I didn't know Benjamin is the one you are visiting", said the nurse from before with raised eyebrows.

"Are visitors that unusual?", he asked, turning towards her.

She fidgeted around with the plastic bag she had brought.

"To be honest, yes. His aunt and uncle stopped coming and it's not like he has much family left. Well... I guess you already know that. Even though you don't look to me as if you are of his family."

"I am a friend", gave Attila a simple answer.

"Good to hear that. Of his parents or his uncle?"

"Of him", he replied immediately.

She frowned at that, but didn't implore further. Hanna went to the table, putting the medical bag down before seating herself in one of the other chairs in the room.

"I am glad that there are still people caring for him. Maybe someone he trusts can finally reach him."

Attila wanted to ask about what had happened, but bit his tongue as to not endanger his cover story.

"How long until he recovers?", he asked instead, clinging to the faint hope that he could take his Master somewhere else before their enemies found out of his condition.

Hanna shrugged.

"Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. Apallic syndrome is a curious condition. The probability of him waking up decreases with every day he spends like this, but at three months there is still hope. He is barely released from intensive care after the accident."

Rider grunted in acknowledgement.

"All this technology and people can still do no more than hoping for a miracle in extreme cases..."

"I'm afraid this is what it is."

 _Three months in this state... if he had been born in our tribe, we would have put him out of his misery a long time ago... and yet..._

"He is strong", observed Attila, thinking that he was still despite everything somehow able to summon him. "He has the will to prevail."

The nurse gave a soft smile. Rider turned back to his Master.

"You are listening, aren't you? Silently cursing the fate which doesn't allow you to join our discussion. Cursing that you can't back up my words right now... But I promise you, you will. And until then... you can rely on me to finish your business."

"You seem close to him", Hanna remarked.

"He is my host after all. I owe him my life... I am bound by both guest right and life debt to protect him."

"You have a funny way to see things..."

Attila shook his head.

"It is not funny at all. It is how things always were. It is about respect to the laws of gods and men."

"If I may ask, where are you from?", she frowned.

"I doubt you know the place. But if you ask after my home, I can tell you that the world is my home. My people have traveled far. And I even further."

Hanna crossed her arms.

"I... I see... well, I can tell that you are sincere", she stood up. "I still have things to do, so I better let you two alone. Will you come again?"

"Surely", he replied immediately. "If I can be of assistance in his recovery, you can count on me."

"His therapy currently revolves around physical stimulation, so I guess I can arrange it to let you join his exercises. If you want to, of course, Mr...?"

"Ri-", he stopped, knowing that using the alias given to him would sound silly to a Teutonic who knows it for the meaning it has, so instead he used the first Teutonic name going through his head. "Valamir. And I would appreciate it very much if that is possible."

Attila silently added that it would also be useful to keep an eye on him if they happen to take another walk. He had shown the enemy how easily he can swat his minions aside. He would surely refrain from another attack if he escorted his Master from the beginning. And surrounded and under constant supervision in the hospital there was only a low chance that the enemy would be so bold to attack him here.

"I see what I can do", she intended to go, but narrowed her eyes when she passed him. "Oh and by the way, you have something there at your neck."

Rider grabbed at his collar and found something dangling there. Ripping it off his shirt, he marveled at what he found. A small piece of cardboard with numbers written on it. Hanna seemed rather amused about his findings.

"You are a strange man, Mr. Valamir."

"I know...", he replied wearily, watching her leave.

"I will return soon", he told Benjamin, before he switched into Spirit Form and left himself.

He spent the rest of the day patrolling the city of Einzbern. Oddly enough, he found himself alone among the crowds. The city might have been bustling with life, but he sensed no presence of other Heroic Spirits. If the enemy was hiding or he happened to be the first, he couldn't say. All he knew was that it brought no gain to ride around with no aim. Therefore he spent the night guarding the hospital and returned to his Master's side on the morrow, when he witnessed the first visitors to arrive.

"You again?", called out Hanna when she entered the room and found him telling a tale of bravery his father had once told him.

"Am I unexpected?", he returned the question.

"I admit, yes. After so long without visitors, daily visits are a bit surprising."

He gave a dark smile.

"To make my intention clear, I won't leave his side until he awakens. We still have... business to see through."

He could sense how his strong words took her aback.

"Even if he awakens, you can't just drag him outside. His muscles need time to make up the time of disuse."

"That may be...", Attila grumbled. "I still can't believe what horrible accident can have befallen him to make him end up like this."

"Well, as you know, his parents were less fortunate as driver and co-driver... but it depends on the perspective when you consider him lucky or not for surviving the crash."

 _An accident on the road? With those horse-less chariots which are speeding around everywhere?_

If he was sitting around without a heroic enemy, he could at least spend his time usefully by avenging his Master.

"I only know the bare bones of the story. I can't believe his parents were responsible, so who is?", he asked darkly.

Hanna grimaced slightly.

"I guess I know even less than you. All I have heard was that it was a truck-driver taking them the right of way, causing their car to be shredded under his trailer. The last I've heard about him is that he is awaiting his trial for negligent homicide with no chance to get off the hook."

Attila gave an acknowledging grunt. It was regrettable that there was no foe to hunt down, but he was content that justice will be served for stupidly taking two lives and nearly taking a third.

"Doesn't make him wake up though", Hanna said, watching the boy with tilted head and an expression that soon turned into a frown.

Her worry startled even Attila as she took a small towel out of a cupboard and dried his head with it.

"Anything wrong?", Rider asked.

Hanna put her hand on the boy's forehead and took his pulse immediately thereafter.

"His head is burning and his extremities are cold as ice. Feverish... I hope it isn't an infection, but I've never heard of one which comes with such a localized rash", she pointed towards his command spells.

Attila had no choice but to nod along as she went through the possibilities. He wanted to tell her that the markings were harmless, but what choice did he have?

"Is it bad?"

"If his condition worsens, we need to get him back to the intensive care unit. But it is strange nonetheless. He should be way past these symptoms which-", she stopped abruptly when the boy began to shake violently.

Hanna was all professional routine. Attila couldn't even tell which cupboard she had fetched it from, but she had immediately draped a plastic piece over the boy's mouth that must have somehow helped him breath. And yet the fit didn't stop.

"I'm killing him", Attila realized aghast.

"What?", she asked back similarly confused about his words.

"I can't stay here. My presence hurts him..."

"Nonsense, it's just a fit!", Hanna called out, but he paid her no mind.

Rider fled the room and went straight to the very next corner to return to his spiritual form. When he entered the room of his Master again, he watched how Hanna was preparing some kind of syringe only to stop when she noticed that the fit had already subsided. She scratched her head, possibly wondering about why the visitor was so flustered.

 _It must be our connection... I don't draw much energy from him, but when I have physical form, he must live for two after all. Frail as he is._

He stared at his own hands. Brought back to life through this boy and yet he repaid him with death. Cursing, Attila turned around and marched off. He was never much of a thinker. When he faced a problem that couldn't be solved through trickery or valor, he tended to try to distract himself until it went away. So he spent the remainder of the day like he did before, patrolling the city in Spirit Form. Even though this day he felt for some reason drawn to the big paved roads surrounding the city. And like the day before, it was a fruitless effort. With no Servants in sight, he could do no more than watching the traffic pass more or less smoothly. Of course there were some moments in which he observed people breaking the laws of the road. After a whole day of observing all kinds of situation Attila managed to widen his grasp on them after all. What was not ingrained in memory through his Riding skill, he learned from experiencing the practice of real life.

He also witnessed someone cut someone else while changing lanes, causing the victim to slow down cursing and praying that nobody was about to ram into his rear for this unexpected stunt.

 _Something like this must have caused my Master's condition..._

He returned to the hospital with his head hung low. He was relieved to find Benjamin still in his bed, not being moved to intensive care and out of his reach. And yet it his condition had not improved.

 _How should it? I am still here..._

Attila spent this night on the roof of the building, gazing at the stars. Even they seemed to have left him, considering that their number looked oddly diminished.

 _The gods seem distant tonight. They make it my decision..._

He was about to kill his host, that was for sure. And Attila was still deciding whether that was a desirable outcome or not. From a practical point of view, he would put the boy out of his misery and gain the chance to find someone strong enough to let him fight with all his strength.

 _But what am I if I do that? Cursed... cursed for consciously killing the person who summoned me, my host, my lord. The gods will not let me off the hook for that. I will never get another Master, my chance for victory will be lost the moment I abandon their laws._

And then there was more. It was not like the boy was a lost cause. Hanna didn't seem to think so. Attila himself should know even better. After all, he was still strong enough to drag him out of the afterlife.

 _I can't let him die_ , Attila decided. _Too much speaks against it. All my instincts tell me that there must be a different way._

He looked at his hand blurry from being phased into spirit form. Rider clenched it.

 _No, I will repay my debt with interest. I am Attila, I am the Scourge of God! I can't lower myself to a rat hiding in the sewers._

He set out for patrol in the first hour of the morrow. Oddly enough, the streets around Einzbern were already as crowded as he had never seen them before. Hundreds of cars were bustling towards the huge circular road and from there on to the highway leading to another, even larger town than the one he had found himself in. Since he didn't had to think about his Master's safety while in Spirit Form, Attila was able to invisibly ride alongside the stream, watching commuters finding their way peacefully.

At least until a shrieking staccato of angry horn beeping caught his attention. When he turned around he saw that the source was a small car which changed to the rightmost line and accelerated fast. Attila frowned at that. Admittedly, his grasp on the laws these charioteers had to abide to was not the best, since he acquired it mostly through his observations of the practical application. And yet he was able to see that it was a stupid idea with the entrance to the motorway being so close at hand. Slowing down his own speed, the invisible rider watched the events unfold. There was indeed a car on the acceleration lane present which was just trying to enter, only to haphazardly back off as the speeding one darted past it.

 _There wasn't much missing for a collision..._

The picture of his Master's condition flashed up in front of his eyes as the speeding car drove through the ghost. Anger swelled up in his belly and Attila decided to follow that one a bit, trying to see if he intended to challenge his luck even more. And indeed he did when he left the circular motorway trying to enter the city, but nearly drove into the rear of someone waiting at the red light on the regular road outside. Attila lead his horse to a trot and came to a halt right next to it as it waited for the lights to turn green. Loud, aggressive music echoed towards him as he leaned down to look into the cabin, only to find a youngster who was drumming restlessly on his steering wheel in accordance to the bass of the music.

 _You have chosen the wrong day to let your impatience get the better of you..._

The traffic lights changed color and the car in front of them steered to the left as indicated by its blinker. It was this split-second Attila used to switch into the mortal plane, knowing that his time was short. Since his summoning, he had more than enough time to think about his current situation and sort out the conflicting information he gained upon his summoning. He knew that this vessel of Rider was nothing more than a soul-consuming demon. And he also knew that in order not consume the one of his Master, he had only one choice.

He stared at the youngster in the accelerating car while his own steed kept up the pace. And in this short moment between corporeal and ethereal existence, the Heroic Spirit established a connection with this mortal not unlike the one with his Master, only far more sudden and violent. Attila paid no mind for any restraints, he gauged himself upon the fool's natural reserves of magical energy, draining in life with one swift stroke. He shuddered and collapsed, the connection broke down. And Attila's horse came to a halt as he watched the driverless car rush frontally into guardrail.

It was not a very satisfying experience, but Rider felt the magical energy pulsate inside him. He had to comfort himself with the thought that now he had more than energy to sustain a mortal body without endangering his Master, but was also uncomfortably aware that he still could not fight without restraint.

 _It seems I still have to do that a few times..._

With a grunt, he turned his horse around and rode back to the hospital. He knew that his choice of victim might be a little silly, especially since he had no intention of fighting an irrational vendetta on his Master's behalf. But with things as they were, he found it still slightly more fair to target those who are a threat to the public instead of wantonly murdering people like a madman. He might have build his reputation in life upon fear, but he was still a king abiding to rules of conduct, no matter how flimsy his justifications may seem to others and himself.

He returned a little later than the day before since he had seen in the timetables that this day was another one of the boy's rehab session and he did not intend to barge in at that one. So when he returned, the atmosphere at the hospital was quite laidback and barely any business was to be found in the corridors. Though much to his surprise, Hanna was still standing in front of his room as if standing guard, her arms crossed and looking worried. Wondering about her attention, he had no choice but to materialize somewhere else in the hospital and approach her in his civilian garb, instead of doing that inside.

"Greetings, Nurse Hanna", he said, trying to sound normal.

"So you show up after all."

The hostility in her sneer was easy enough to notice, but his senses told him that there was some real danger in his situation.

"Is something amiss?", Attila asked carefully.

"You, apparently. And your name. If it even is Valamir."

The warlord was taken aback. He was not sure how she was able to deduce that much.

"I am not sure I understand", he said, he didn't even need to feign his confusion.

"Fine. You want to play dumb, let's go with that", she placed her hands at her sides as she looked down upon Rider with him being suddenly even more aware of how small he must have looked to those Teutons. "I wanted to do you a favor and tried to arrange participation at Benjamin's rehabilitation program. Thing is, when I told the secretary about your plea, she reacted confused. Benjamin never had visitors in the last few days, at least no one who officially registered."

Attila grimaced. He knew that explaining this dearth of traces he left would be difficult. Carefully thinking about his next steps, he let Hanna go on:

"I don't know who you are and why you think you can sneak in and out of this facility as you please, but I tell you that this stops right now."

"I am sorry if my behavior was not in accordance with the usual procedures, but you know that I am only here to help Benjamin", Attila said as neutral as possible.

"I suppose I do", she replied angrily. "It's the only reason I haven't called the police yet."

The warlord sighed.

"You would go so far to separate me from him?"

 _... especially after what I have done to save his life..._

"You still have to ask this?", she asked back. "Fine, I have thought you odd at first. A little strange, yes, but harmless. Now you have become a full blown creep. And I won't let you get anywhere near him."

Attila had tried to negotiate, but now that this had failed, he stopped trying to hide his amusement about her attempt to cow him.

"You cannot keep me away", he said with a sly chuckle.

"Is this a threat?", she grew defensively, taking a step back towards the door, but Attila remained calm and stoic.

"No. A statement", he replied coldly before he looked into both directions to assure that there was no one else around.

Having made sure of that, he changed into spirit form. Attila saw Hanna's eyes widen in disbelieve as he stepped around her and entered Benjamin's room by phasing through the door. When Hanna entered the room, he had already materialized again and was seated at the side of the boy's bed. The nurse silently closed the door behind her.

"What was that?", she asked surprisingly calmly.

"Excuse me being so dramatic, but I thought it necessary to prove my point."

If he had been totally honest, he would have admitted that she effectively rid him of other options.

"Point taken. How did you do this?"

Attila shrugged.

"It is not a trick, if this is what you think."

"I am not exactly sure what I am supposed to think...", she still seemed confused, but proved to have recovered surprisingly fast from the initial shock.

"It is just something I can do due to what I am", Rider explained.

"And you are what exactly?"

 _A killer? A soul-consuming demon?_

"A friend. Better leave it at that. I am here for Benjamin's sake. And I intend to save him if that is possible for me."

"Don't tell me you are some kind of guardian angel or something. I have never heard of one who is in so desperate a need for a shave as you."

Attila chuckled darkly. He was suddenly reminded of a certain buffoon of a pope who would object quite heavily to him being likened to an angel.

"I once lived my life, died and have come back bound to him. This is all I am able to tell you."

Now it was Hanna's turn to sigh.

"Maybe 'odd' was the wrong wording. Crazy would have been more appropriate."

"I don't want you to be my enemy. Be assured, I will do everything I can to protect Benjamin. I apologize again for my previous behavior, but as someone who does not belong into this time, making myself look like family or acquaint with his family wouldn't have worked."

"Okay, that would explain your weird name as well...", Hanna grunted.

 _And considering my reputation in this age, I will better leave it at that._

"But be also aware that there are more of my kind, most of them with ill intentions. If someone else tries to reach him, someone with similarly uncertain background, don't engage them and let me handle it."

"Someone wants to harm him?", her confusion was swept aside in one swift stroke as she looked at the boy with reawakened worry.

 _Not him, me..._

"Maybe. I'll try to intercept them before they find this place though."

"You are making my job a whole lot more complicated with this", she sneered. "Tell me, why exactly should I trust someone as shady as you? Maybe those others have more interest in antagonizing you. Maybe they have a good reason for that, if they exist at all. All you have told me so far could have been bald lies. Especially after your strange behavior yesterday."

Attila knew that his words would be used against him. She had good reason to mistrust him since his observation from the day before was true. He _was_ killing him. At least until now.

"If you don't want me to show myself, I can do that for the next few days. I will still be here to protect him. But I won't bother you or anyone else. Until our next meeting, I can only assure you that I have done everything I could to stop the harming effect of my presence to Benjamin. I promise that you will see his condition improving from now on. I hope you can let go of your suspicions then", and with these words, Rider disappeared again.

The warlord stood true to his words for the next few days, even though nothing much had changed in his everyday behavior. He guarded the hospital at night and went out to hunt at day, all the while ceasing to manifest anywhere but next to his victims. It was a very effective form of preparations and he felt how his mana reservoirs filled. He knew he wouldn't need many more kills to be competitive. In fact, he itched for the first battle to come. Not knowing where the enemy was hiding left him restless and sore. He at least wanted to get back at the one ambushing Benjamin in the forest...

He didn't know that his first two enemies found him before he was able to find them.

The first one he encountered when was just leaving Benjamin's side and moved through the hospital corridor in spirit form. The oddest aspect was that as a Heroic Spirit Attila should have perceive others of his kind from far away, but instead his words reached him even before his presence did:

"You have a strange way of setting up your base", the voice said edgily. "And choosing your Master, apparently."

Attila was caught in his tracks. He turned towards the stranger, his whole body tense. He materialized inadvertently, staring down the person who had approached him so baldly. Despite his long brown hair and curly beard covering his face, he looked far younger than the late thirties he must have been in. And the red sliver in his otherwise black eyes betrayed his nature. The stranger's lean, muscular body that was clothed in the common clothes of shirt and jeans of this age was quite tanned and Attila judged his features to be of Mediterranean descent, even though he was not quite sure where exactly to put him. He only knew that he couldn't stand his cocky smile and if not for the risk of anyone looking, he would have cut it out of his face then and there.

"What I choose or don't is of no concern to you, trickster", Attila instead replied.

Even now he could not sense his opponent's presence, despite there being no denial that the stranger was quite aware of him. And he seemed to find his words quite amusing.

"Trickster? Oh well, men have called me worse. How odd. You seem to see right through me while you remain a mystery to me. Why him? Why go to such great lengths for a cripple?"

Attila sneered in derision.

"The fact that you have to ask after watching me for certainly quite some time tells me that you won't understand even if I tell you."

"Maybe", the stranger laughed mockingly. "Either way, you must be aware of the risk you are taking. Such a fragile life that yours is connected to..."

Rider's face darkened. As much as his opponent played innocent, he still wasn't sure why he showed up in the first place if not for picking up a fight.

"You dare to threaten my Master to my face?", Attila growled.

The stranger made an aghast face, well acted but Rider didn't buy it for a second.

"Me? Threatening a child? Do not worry, I am not so vile a hero to lower myself so much. But I am afraid my mistress isn't quite so kind-hearted as you and me. Be more wary of her."

"If that is true, your words are betraying your liege", Rider observed with a suspicious frown.

"Oh, don't we all have our differing aims? I have them, you have them, my mistress has them... I'm pretty sure even your young Master has them if he had the ability to speak."

Attila realized that honor was not something his opponent valued very much. Only his pride kept him from following up his unsaid threats. An enemy strolling up right to the doorstep of his Master, completely outmaneuvering Rider's senses for who knows how long... he was mocking him, glowering with his superiority.

"I thought you wouldn't come back", a voice called out from the side. Both Heroic Spirits turned towards it.

Nurse Hanna was approaching. Attila unconsciously stepped between her and the stranger, stopping her from getting into his striking distance.

"I am sorry, this won't take long", he said dismissively.

He felt her questioning look at his back. She surely must have realized by now that his conversation partner was one of those he had warned her from.

"Ah well, I have to leave anyway", the stranger announced, turning his back towards the two of them.

"Don't you dare leaving our conversation at that, trickster", Attila growled.

"Who you?", Hanna fell in besides him.

The man turned towards her, a aggravatingly self-indulgent smile on his face. It looked like he was enjoying a joke only he could understand.

"Don't worry about humble me. I am but nobody."

And with these words, he vanished around the corner. Leaving Hanna in the corridor, Attila proceeded to follow him, only to realize that he had already disappeared. And with his signature being faint and nearly undetectable, Attila could not say where he went to if he had left at all.

"What is going on here?", Hanna asked.

Attila sighed.

"I am sorry I was not able to keep my promise up, Do not worry, it will not happen again", without further ado, Attila then left himself, leaving a thoroughly confused nurse behind.

This encounter made him so wary, he remained the entire day at his Master's side. Only in the next morning after the enemy refused to show up again, he decided that he had to continue his daily routine. But his mind was still at the hospital and it showed when in combat. Attila screwed up. Had he targeted only single drivers before, those who had brought upon themselves only their own fate, this time he realized only far too late that their was a young boy in the back of this day's prey. At the time he had realized this, the driver was already dead having been sucked dry of life, so Attila frantically jumped off his slowing horse and grabbed the car's rear. Despite his amplified strength as a Heroic Spirit, his reaction came too late and the car crashed regardless of his efforts, even if it wasn't nearly as destructive as if without them.

He remained long enough at the crash site to ensure that this boy got proper medical attention and was glad that his injuries were judged not all that bad. Attila couldn't stand if his carelessness had caused even more with the condition of his Master...

But fate decided to punish him regardless of his intentions. The very next morning while he was still guarding the hospital, an overwhelming presence entered his area of perception. He knew immediately that it was not the annoying stranger from before. Looking out of his Master's window, he saw the silhouette of a tall figure in golden armor. Of course he was in Spirit Form, but this one was most certainly another Servant in this fight. Attila had to act fast. Intercepting him then and there seemed a possible, but dangerous option. He couldn't risk a full-blown fight so close to his Master, but it also would have been wasteful to change to the conditions of their fight with his Noble Phantasm. He also couldn't stand betraying his words another time by allowing the Hanna and the staff to witness any carnage here. Therefore he decided to lure him away, hoping for the enemy to follow him if he made haste for the motorway.

Much to his chagrin, the enemy didn't follow immediately. At least this one's presence was so absurdly strong that he could pinpoint him from a good mile away. Attila didn't feel any immediate danger for his Master, oddly enough the enemy spent quite a lot of time either in a different wing or outside the building. But he couldn't stop his tenseness as he rode circles between the motorway and the hospital. He was ready to strike as soon as this enemy was getting too close to the area his Master dwelled.

 _A fight against that one will be difficult..._

And it proved to be difficult as the enemy at last followed up to his invitation. With the monstrous presence closing in fast, he knew that this enemy was sure enough of himself to fight a Rider class spirit on his own terms. Attila was worried about the outcome. He knew his strength was in overwhelming charges and the ability to outmaneuver any enemy in the field. Allowing himself to be hunted was a change of tactics that he was quite unfamiliar with. So when it came to a clash of archery between him and the opponent with his chariot and his lightning bolts, all Rider could do was to defend himself as arrow upon arrow exploded between them.

 _He is too skilled, if it goes on like this will certainly overcome my attacks and target me._

Attila realized that he needed something to equal the odds. Some kind of diversion. Begrudgingly Rider observed that there were not many obstacles in this open motorway that would be enough to actually slow down a Heroic Spirit. There were the cars around them. The warlord then decided to count on his opponent being too honorable for his own good and shot an arrow into the general direction of one of the cars they had overtaken. It was not aimed to do serious damage to it, but placed well enough to provoke a reaction from his opponent. And much to his relieve, this bowman with his antiquated vessel went out of his way to intercept the arrow Attila had fired. Assured of his enemy's decency, Rider now exploited it by firing volleys upon volley into different directions, forcing his opponent to spend crucial time protecting the other members of the traffic. But while it decreased pressure upon Rider, it was still not enough to make much of a difference. With Archer increasing the tenacity of his attacks, he was now himself too focused to keep up the diversion in order to take good shots at his hunter.

 _Deadlock. I can't win this fight, I only risk depleting mana for nothing._

Just as he thought this, he spotted a bridge appearing in front of him. This was battle, he saw the way out and he had to grasp it, the repercussions be damned. In the midst of their frantic charge, Attila drew his sword. It was a slender, curved blade made of meteoric steel, having an eerie color pale as the moonlight. Without his bow, Attila had no way to intercept Archer's arrows, so he zigzagged through the traffic while bolts of charged light came crashing down all around him. It needed all his skill and the tenacity of his steed to not get killed before accomplishing his final diversion. And then he raised his weapon, focusing on the bridge as his target.

" **Isten Kardja - Sword of Tengri**!", he activated his Noble Phantasm with a booming shout.

He felt the blessing of his war god, the blessing to see the death of things and exchange it for life. It was not of much use to finish a Servant, an attempt likely amounting to suicide, but now that he witnessed a thick red string emerging from the bridge and dangling down into his path, he knew that a conceptual 'life' like this one wouldn't cost him too much. Therefore he didn't hesitate as he cut it during full charge, only feeling a slight sting in his chest as the bridge shivered and died.

This time his diversion was successful. He got rid of what he considered to be Archer and was able to retreat to the hospital with all haste. His opponent was unable to follow, he felt his presence fading as he escaped into a different direction. The following night was a night of tough decisions. Did he have to move location? After all, during his stay two enemies showed up in short succession, it was like he himself lured them the enemy towards this place like a campfire in the night. Even then, what would he do about Archer? Now that he knew that this enemy was indeed ready to attack him in the open, he needed to get rid of him as soon as possible, before they are risking drawing even more attention towards him. Attila only knew that he couldn't count on an archery duel, it was obvious that he had reached his limits trying this.

Relaxing on the roof of the hospital, gazing at the few sparkling stars above, Rider decided that he would face him in battle the next day. But to his conditions. In his mind a plan took on shape. A plan to make his enemy think that he again decided the battlefield, only for him to be overwhelmed by a flanking manoeuvre. About moving his base of operations as to not draw further attention to his Master, he could still decide afterwards.

The sun set early this day and for Attila it was the sign to prepare himself. Mounted on his loyal horse, his blessed sword at his side and holding his bow in a firm hand, he rode onwards into the orange tinted streets of Einzbern. This day the traffic around him no mind as he drew his circles. He waited patiently for the presence of Archer to reappear. In hindsight Attila had realized that the enemy had tried to force him off the road, likely in an attempt to force him into an open battle. If he was that desperately to end it, he was unlikely to give up easily.

Even though he was certain of this, hours upon hours passed. They took their good time, Attila guessed it was in order to unnerve him. But he wouldn't allow impatience to make him less careful. He waited, still amount, at the side of the road and watched the traffic decreasing more and more as the sun rose higher.

 _Ah, they'll wait for a clearer path..._ , Rider mused.

Around twenty minutes later, Archer proved to not disappoint him. Attila was unable to see him yet, but his presence was like a roaring beast rolling up the motorway. The warlord smiled darkly. With the charioteer approaching fast, things went exactly as he planned. Leaning back in his seat, the Scourge of God prepared his Noble Phantasm...

* * *

Author's Notes: As you might have guessed by now, this chapter also counts as a major Fu** you towards Grand Order's depiction of Attila as a scantly clad girl (even though in this game 'female' and 'fetishized' seem to be used as synonyms *sigh*).

Well then, this is what I regard as a respectful adaptation and I am fairly sure Einzbern's Attila wouldn't be too happy to see what Fate canon had done to him. Even though I admit that at the time the idea to this Fic was conceived I didn't know they were going to do Attila. Or Richard Lionheart, even though that one was about time. I haven't read Strange Fake, so I can only judge the artworks, but while I might be a little happy that the official version also has a Fake!Excalibur as a Noble Phantasm, I am a little iffed that they have reduced him to just another stereotypical Anime Bishonen. I guess it takes some effort to make the Lionheart boring, but I am fairly sure the author accomplished just that. And considering how stupid most of the other character designs look like...

Oh well, better not dwell on that. I hope you had fun!


	18. Chapter 17 - Simon

It's always annoying when an author starts each chapter with excuses, especially when the chapter in question is technically on time. But the thing is that I intended for this climactic battle to appear shortly after the last chapter. And indeed when I actually got to writing it, I had a decent pace. But as it happens, college stuff came first and I rarely got to actually write anything that wasn't protocols or papers. But now that I finished two thirds of my homework, I used this weekend to finally get this arc wrapped up for good. Rejoice!

* * *

Chapter 17 - Simon

The sky was a clear blue and the sun shone bright and warm upon their heads. It was neither so hot that they melted down outside a shadow, nor was the wind any more than a soft breeze, far from threatening them with an annoying summer cold. It was far too perfect a day to darken it with the intend to kill, and yet the two young people who had set out this midday had a bloody job to do. One to prevent more bloodshed, sure, but it didn't make the thought any less frightening. Simon was appropriately gloomy as they left the bus somewhere at the edge of town, but Roza seemed completely unfazed, observing her surroundings with unwavering curiosity.

"Your Einzbern has a layout fitting to a much larger city, doesn't it?", she asked with a wave towards their map.

Simon shrugged, he had never paid that much mind. Without a car himself, he rarely thought about the motorway, only when Alexandra offered to take him to the city.

"I was never in this part of town, actually", he admitted.

 _And I guess barely anyone feels the need to walk along the motorway afoot._

They soon left any trace of houses behind, instead taking a rocky path into the nearby woods, only to soon enough leave even this one. Between two glances Simon realized that Roza had left behind her light street clothes and switched into her green uniform. The heavy wool looked awfully warm to him, but Roza seemed not to notice it.

This way they continued their way until the first sounds of rushing cars were audible in the distance. But before they were able to see it, a wired fence cut straight through the woods. It seemed that someone who had designed the motorway was clever enough to ensure that no animal happened to stumble onto the road. He doubted they wanted to keep stragglers like them away.

"So much for that, we have to find a way around. Maybe when we go to the next motorway exit, we can circumcise it", Simon thought aloud, scratching his head.

"Nah, this isn't a problem...", Roza said casually.

Too casually for his liking. He was afraid she was going to cut the wires, he dreaded to think what that could possibly cause for carnage.

"I don't think that's a good-", he interrupted himself as Roza stepped forward and easily began to climb the fence with catlike agility.

Soon enough she had reached the top and seated herself upon it. The casual way with which she tucked her skirt between her legs as she looked down upon him made it clear that she was no stranger to such stunts.

"Oh great", Simon blinked. "Now how am I supposed to get over there?"

"Like I did, silly. It's not that hard", she laughed merrily, Simon concentrated hard to not take it as mockery.

"Yeah, I am going to show you how hard it can be if you've never done this before..."

Simon stepped close to the fence and grabbed two of the knotted wires above his head with both hands. He took high ones thinking that since he was about to fail anyway, he at least wanted to fail as high as possible. The next step consisted of him trying to ram the tips of his shoes into the wireframe, desperately trying to get at least some minimal amount of hold. For naught of cause, he never even managed to leave the ground with both feet, slipping out of the wires each time he tried.

"Wow, you were serious", Roza commented from above. "You have never climbed a tree as a child?"

"Do I look like that's something I'd just do?", Simon shot back. "I am a city kid through and through."

"That explains a lot. I admit I never understood you city people. How did you pass your free afternoons?", Roza asked with pure amusement in her voice.

"On the ground!", Simon complained, resigning with hanging shoulders, silently declaring the fence to be the winner.

Just as he wanted to do that, Roza climbed a little towards him, offering her hand.

"Come on, you can do this, just try it seriously."

"I was seriously", he gave as a grumpy reply.

"Feet first, lock them deep into the fence. I will help you straighten up."

He tried that. Trying to climb it like extremely narrow stairs, he put the tips of his feet into the spaces between the wires, only to cling to the fence like a folded sheet of paper. Just as he was beginning to give up, Roza took his arms and placed his hands at a higher level, forcing his body to follow. It was still quite a messy climb and Simon thought that it felt more like she was dragging him forcefully over the obstacle. Apparently fed up with his uselessness as he was happy enough for his hands to have reached the top, somewhat resting there, she moved below him and roughly showed his ass upwards until his body was wrapped around the top like a kitten lost on a tree. To his surprised outcry she reacted with worryingly amused giggling.

"I'm glad that you have fun...", he groaned before he let himself fall on the other side of the fence.

Roza followed swiftly and effortlessly as he was grimacing about the pain in his legs crawling up after the impact.

"Maybe we should repeat that a couple of times until you get the hang on it", she proposed with a grin.

"No way, we are going to go around on our way home. We have all the time in the world, after... well, you get my meaning."

The atmosphere suddenly turned a little more tense again. Their struggle was a nice diversion, but they had to press on towards the motorway. After all, Roza was awaiting her prey...

After some more meters of passing the not very dense edge of the forest they finally found some kind of ridge atop the motorway. Having already summoned her rifle, Roza immediately threw herself to the ground and crouched into position. Not wanting to be left behind, Simon fell in besides her. As he placed himself to her right, Roza glanced at him with an unhappy expression.

"To my left", she ordered bluntly, making a pulling motion at the lever of her rifle.

After some seconds of confusion Simon got her meaning and crouched backwards to switch his side. After positioning himself there, he silently watched the girl looking for prey through her scope. Simon thought how they would like for anyone who happened to notice them. With the sniper next to him pointing at the traffic with a loaded gun, they must have looked like homicidal killers. His thoughts only traced off as he watched an ant crawling over a blade of grass in front of him, groaning silently inside that with his luck he may have thrown himself upon an ant hill. And his thought kept trailed off because Roza handed him her binocular immediately thereafter.

"Watch out for anything unusual, comrade Berger", she smirked.

Simon took it with a resigned grimace.

 _She wants me to feel a little less useless. I guess she has no trouble observing the traffic on her own anyway..._

But despite his trust in her abilities, he joined her vigil and the hours passed. Having been treated with some kind of a 'best of' of Roza's tour of duty, he had been barely aware how true her words about this job being mostly consisting of waiting turned out to be. And yet the tension prevented his aching eyes from becoming sleepy. At any given time the two combatants could have turned up. But for all these hours nothing happened except the traffic below them subsiding little for little due to rush hour ending. Only few cars were left as Simon noticed a dark red sliver somewhere inside the ridge on his left. He at first thought it was some kind of halo on the binocular lens, especially since he found it absurd that the sliver would have been inside the ground. Only after a couple of seconds and the sliver becoming bigger and brighter it dawned upon him that Roza's neat toy allowed him to see the aura of things even through solid objects. This sliver was not on the ground, it was behind it. Somewhere behind the ridge. And as it came closer fast, it apparently also split into two, with the latter one being far brighter.

"I believe something is coming", Simon stated with a gulp.

"I see them", came Roza's voice surprisingly close to him.

Setting down the binocular, he realized that she had turned into the direction he was looking at, the muzzle of her rifle following its target with terrible precision.

"What are they doing?", Simon asked, not being able to see more than their presence anyway.

"Chasing, like yesterday", she replied matter-of-factly.

"I don't hear any explosions..."

"They are not fighting. Yet. Both keep up Spirit Form, apparently trying not to startle the traffic again."

 _Sounds wise enough to me..._

"Can you take out the rider?", he asked.

"I... can try."

Simon grimaced. It seemed she still had no confidence in her ability to end it as swiftly as it should be. Only then he realized how audible his heart was beating, how a warm feeling crept up his guts. He chided himself for being so nervous. He wasn't even the one holding the rifle, he shouldn't be the one worrying Roza for no reason.

"I trust you. You can do this here."

"Thanks", she smirked slightly, all the while not for a millisecond losing her target.

The following seconds stretched out to all eternity. Simon watched through his binocular how the two combatants raced towards them with insane speed, passing through the traffic as if it wasn't even there. Roza waited until she had a clear shot, clear not only of the ridge, but of the other cars as well. And then he appeared so that he could see him with his own eyes. The rider they were tracking. A mounted warrior with a shield slung upon his back, wearing rugged leather armor. Seeing anymore was impossible, he had more than enough trouble not loosing track of him even with the binocular set on the lowest possible resolution. Roza still waited then until he was directly in front of them.

Bang.

A shiver went through Simon's entire body as the sound of Roza's Mosin-Nagant echoed through forest and out into the motorway. The ringing was so loud, he didn't even notice the clacking of Roza ejecting her cartridge casing. His ear was throbbing, but his heart was bursting upon the picture his eyes were seeing. The enemy rider flailed on horseback, a spray of red bursting from his skull. Before Simon had time to blink, he slid back first from his mount and crashed onto the pavement, where he disappeared in a blue mist. Unaware of its rider's misfortune, the horse continued its charge, only to slowly fade away in the same manner.

"You did it...", Simon whispered awestruck, turning towards Roza. "You did it!"

He was glad that it went so smoothly, but also stopped himself from celebrating it more. His sudden burst of joy at someone's death scared him more than he could say. He only hoped that this was relieve, not something more vile. But much to his growing worry, Roza didn't seem to share his attitude towards the situation. As she but down her rifle, the expression on her face was wide-eyed confusion.

"Too easy", she announced aghast.

A crack echoed through the forest. And before Simon was able to ask further questions, he felt Assassin's hand on his chest as she pushed him roughly to the ground. As he looked up, she had already turned towards the source of the sound and prepared herself for shooting from a kneeling position. A split-second thereafter horse and rider came crashing through the bushes, rendering their height advantage completely useless with one giant leap. Simon couldn't believe it. He had the same armor, the same small pony, the same grim face as the person they just shot. Did he somehow survived this?

Whatever had happened, Roza was making sure to correct her mistake. A second bang echoed through the forest as the rider had charged directly into her muzzle blast. Simon heard the pitying scream of the horse as it tumbled to the ground, but apparently she missed the rider himself due to the short time. And this guy wasn't allowing her to get to a third shot. In the same motion the horse hit the ground, the rider himself had already jumped off, straight into the kneeling Soviet soldier. A bright shimmer dazzled him. It was the sunlight shimmering on a slender, curved blade. Simon's heart sunk into his knees before the sound of metal hitting metal reached his ears. Somehow Roza had managed to get her gun between herself and the enemy. Rider's sword cut deeply into the wooden handle, but the steel barrel proved durable enough to withstand his charge. Locked into each other, the two warriors stared at each other.

"You have killed a good man", Rider said with coarse voice.

"A man you still sacrificed as a decoy", Roza shot back.

The way she struggled against each casual movement of his sword, her feet burrowing themselves deeply into the ground... Simon realized he was toying with her. He could have cut her down from the very beginning, but decided to tell her of her mistake first.

 _Damn, Roza! Get away from him._

"Every task comes with a risk", he dismissed her reply.

He felt so extremely helpless as he was standing next to this scene. Just a moment ago he was giddy from relieve and now everything seemed over. Rider could finish it with just one strike.

And yet he suddenly turned away from her. He could only get a glance at his eyes, but he seemed... surprised... and slightly annoyed in this short instance. In the very next moment, a hellishly fast kick sent Roza flying away from him. Her pained gasp made Simon cringe as she was sent into a small tree nearby, a small tree she knocked cracking down with the force of her impact. But before Simon could even think of getting to her, another bang interrupted the silence of the forest. This one was no shot of a rifle, it was the violent entry of something even more dangerous. It sounded like a supersonic-jet crashing through the sound barrier, but this red something that impacted on Rider's shield didn't leave it at that. The enemy warrior was driven backwards by a barrage of stabs and cuts, all accompanied by the ringing sound of clashing metal.

Simon was not able to take joy in this sudden change of luck. Roza was still wounded. Leaving the two giants behind him, he ran back to the place where she was emerging from the splintered remnants of the tree she had destroyed.

"Is everything okay?", he asked aghast.

"I'm fine", she gave him a pained smile. "Better off than I could have ended up, I guess. What happened-"

He followed her confused gaze and they ended up watching the hellish battle together. Their enemy was attacked by a blur of red that spewed death with precise strikes. It was amazing to see the one who could have killed Roza so easily being driving into defence if not for this sudden rescuer proving even more deadly.

"A... a knight?", Simon realized aghast.

There were not enough moments that allowed him to get a clear view on him, but in rare instances of pause between his charges, he could clearly see a hulk of a man clad in thick mail. His huge triangular shield was adorned with golden leopards on red ground or something along these lines. It was a medieval knight, only that was certain.

 _One of the seven..._

The following events didn't allow him to ponder on that. While the combatants fought, a chariot of gold and blue charged through the leaves and came to a ponderous halt right next to them. Roza had her rifle already prepared, eying the newcomers warily. And yet Simon just had to make soothing hand gestures at her so that she wouldn't appear hostile to them. If the pharaoh had wished a fight, he only had to run them over to finish it. But instead he parked right in front of them, looking down with a placid expression. Since Simon had already seen him a couple of days before, he wasn't quite as surprised to see him as he was with the knight. Even more so due to them knowing that he was tailing Rider anyway. Still, now that he towered in front of him, his proudly displayed muscles and imploring red eyes looking somewhat otherworldly and even more menacingly, he had to gather all his strength so that his legs didn't gave way under Archer's gaze. With the reins wrapped around his hip and the bright blue bow firmly in his hand he looked like carved out of marble.

"You are the ones who killed the decoy?", the pharaoh's words boomed effortlessly through the clatter of the superhuman battle next to them.

Simon gulped.

"Yes", Roza replied. The giant's expression never changed.

"Why?", he asked simply.

Simon knew he had to find his tongue again.

"Uh, we thought this guy is killing people leaving the motorway."

"He did!", a young voice replied.

The Master of Assassin blinked. The presence of the pharaoh was so overwhelming that it took him a couple of seconds to notice the two people standing behind him inside the platform. It were a boy and a girl of about the same age. They were only a couple of years younger than Roza and yet he knew they were still going to school, especially since the boy was the Master of Archer he had seen before.

"It seems we are here for the same reason. Stopping him", the girl added. "Who are you?"

 _Oh right, names..._

"I am Simon, this is-"

"Assassin", Roza interrupted, completing her own introduction. "Archer, I presume?"

The pharaoh gave a stiff nod.

"I'm Kai, this is Sabrina", continued the boy.

"And the one doing all the fighting right now is Saber...", the girl glanced at the battle.

"Well, this is awkward", Simon whispered to Roza.

"So... since you are here to put a stop to Rider over there...", the boy, Kai, put on a sly grin. "Doesn't that make us sit in the same boat?"

Simon looked puzzled towards Roza. She was the one dragging him into this fight, so he expected her to have the last word on such a decision.

"Better than wasting our opportunity I guess", she replied, shrugging.

The boy's grin widened:

"Then its settled! We finish this together."

"For now...", the girl added.

Archer nodded and immediately disentangled himself from his rains. The two kids jumped off the platform to let him dismount and in the second his feet touched the ground both chariot and horses where engulfed by a golden mist and soon enough disappeared as if they were never there. Both Servants then turned their attention towards Rider and Saber, the Masters did as well.

"I'm not going to get a clear shot if they keep fighting so close", Roza observed, grimacing.

"The king would endanger his ally as well", Archer fell in besides her, his grip around his bow tightening.

And the knight continued to stand between them when Rider finally managed to get some distance between himself and his relentless attacker. He looked quite ragged and his shield thoroughly battered as he took a deep breath, still eying his opponent warily. But this one...

"Huh", Saber gave a mocking grunt. "So much terrible violence. You don't hold back, don't you?"

"What do you care? What if I did?", the rugged warrior's reply was short and blunt.

"Ha! That would have been quite the bold move!", Saber laughed. "All your blunt force and yet I was near to take your head thrice already. You might be a good warrior but by all means you are no knight. Oh no... more like a terrible plague that haunts our world, aren't you? Your ill-done deeds, that display of strength you did here... the way you ride your horse, the way you use that nasty curved sword of yours... Everything about you betrays your true name."

The knight lowered his sword. No, Simon realized his mistake in that observation immediately. He readied his shield for another charge and only kept the sword beside it in order to lash out with it in the next moment.

"And what of it?", Rider sneered. "Shall I now feel flattered that my reach was so great I even made your people shudder?"

The knight tilted his head.

"Do not worry, I only expect you to die of my sword. Unlike you, I am a godly man. I know a fiend who is warned of in the holy scriptures when I see him. The lord must be wrathful to have sent you into this age, but here I am to do his bidding."

Rider rolled his eyes, at least before they trailed off towards Simon and the others standing there in preparation of the ensuing battle.

"Mmh, three in one place", he grunted in acknowledgement. "This will do."

Then in one sudden motion, he lifted his sword into the air. For a split second Simon thought it was again reflecting the sun, only to realize that now it was glowing in its entirety.

 _What the-_

Only two words broke the silence:

" **Second Seal!** "

"No!", the desperate scream of Saber sent a shiver through Simon.

The crimson knight's sword flared up in a rush of gold as he darted forward, but it was already too late. The charging Saber was engulfed by a blinding light, one that rapidly expanded and swallowed the entire forest. Nobody was safe. Roza and Archer disappeared from his view and so did Kai and Sabrina as his world was painted white. He had no choice, he had to cover his aching eyes in the faint hope to somehow survive this burst of magic.

 _What is_ -

Even the air surrounding him changed. The heat and faint breeze made way for a strong, cool gust and even the faint smell of cars and their exhausts was replaced by fresh cleanness. The light slowly subsided and when Simon was squirming on the place, he realized that the slippery fallen leaves under his feet were replaced by a thick sea of grass. Opening his eyes, he found that they all had found themselves in open gold-green plains which stretched up from horizon to horizon. Apart from their warped surroundings, everyone stood where they had stood before. The two child Masters, Archer and Roza alongside him and a visibly startled Saber some meters in front of them, his sword swinging at the nothingness where Rider had stood only seconds before.

"Where are we?", Kai asked.

"Hell if I know...", Sabrina cursed softly.

"How can he teleport us like this?", Simon added his own thoughts.

A grim-faced Archer stepped forward.

"This is no teleportation. The king and his allies are still in the forest of Einzbern."

"How can you say something like this? If we are, then he must have levelled the whole freaking city!", his Master interjected.

"No", Archer shook his head. "This is a Reality Marble", his face darkened considerably.

"What?", Simon asked aghast, looking for help at Roza, but even she was looking back helplessly.

"Some sinister magic, that is for sure", the crimson knight guessed. "What else could it be when it invokes the end of the world?"

Simon gulped. This wide field of emptiness was indeed somewhat disconcerting, but he thought that was more due to their involuntary displacement. But now with Saber's words, a feeling of helplessness arouse that crept up from his legs and made him shiver.

 _Wait... this feeling... this is not I who is shaking!_

The realization struck his heart like a merciless dagger.

"What is that?", Sabrina pointed at one of the horizons.

From one end of his view to another, something was different there. At first it looked like a Fata Morgana, some combination of heated air, sun and reflections deceiving their eyes. But instead it dawned upon the six people all at once that there indeed was some kind of yellow cloud eating up the horizon... and creeping closer with every second. Saber lowered his sword.

"As I said, the end of the world."

"Impossible", whispered Kai more to himself than to the other Masters.

"No... it is an army", corrected Roza, her sharp eyes not betraying her. "But it might as well be."

"How is this possible?", Sabrina ran forward to Archer, likely because he seemed like the only one who had a slight clue of what was going on.

The Egyptian bowman turned towards all of the Masters, turning his back towards the enemy.

"The king's court magus once gave him a short introduction into the topic. It is a magic that creates an artificial reality to trap one's enemy in. A reality that recreates the caster's mental landscape. In the case of a Heroic Spirit, the king suspects this particular kind is granted to legends who draw their fame from accomplishments on the battlefield."

"Of course he is", Saber added. "He is war incarnate. This Noble Phantasm gave away his identity as the Red Rider."

"Then that means...", Kai began, gaping with wide eyes at the horizon.

"Aye", Saber smirked darkly. "The Riders of the Apocalypse."

 _We need to do something..._

"Archer...", Simon began, struggling for words. "How can we get out of here?"

"Only if Rider wants us to", the pharaoh grimaced. "Or when he runs out of Mana to keep up this world."

"That would be one hell of a gamble", Saber claimed.

"And if he dies? Does this reality disappear with him?", Simon implored, clinging to the hope that this was somehow possible.

The pharaoh pondered that possibility not for long before he nodded.

"Sure", he said.

Immediately, he turned towards Roza.

"Assassin!"

She met his eyes with a confident nod.

"I'm on it", readying her rifle, she began to study the approaching cloud of dust through her scope. "There he is!"

The ground was shaking and yet hope kept Simon on his feet. A hope that took a slight blow with Roza's pained expression.

"He is at the centre of their lines, surrounded by his men. I can't get a clear shot."

"Can you make it clear?", Simon asked immediately, slightly disturbed over his own eagerness.

"I...", her expression grew dead serious. "... I can only try."

With a single click, she disengaged the safety of the rifle. Simon mentally prepared himself for the throbbing of his ears that would surely ensure. And indeed the blasts were terrifying as they echoed over the empty plains with every single of her well-placed standing shots. She increased the frequency and increased again with every new bang, growing ever more desperate as the growling mass of dust and horseflesh crept closer. And with each shot Simon also saw the desperation increasing on her face.

"I... they tighten around him... I can't...", her professionally calm demeanour cracked slightly with the increasing frequency of her attacks.

"Archer!", the boy then cried out. "Can you give her assistance?"

Simon mentally scolded himself for not thinking this way himself. The pharaoh may be only equipped with a bow, but if he lend a hand, the chance for an opening for Roza would increase. But much to his horror, the towering Egyptian simply stood there, staring at the horizon as if he was not part of their struggle.

"It is too late", he stated grimly.

Simon felt his heart plummeting into his bowels. His first reaction was to look at Roza, but much to his continued horror, she lowered her rifle to look wide-eyed into the distance. Even before he followed her gaze, his ears heard what was happening. It sounded like a thousand mouths breathing in deeply at once. And in the distance he saw how a seemingly endless wave of black emerging from the dust cloud, darkening the sky.

 _Arrows_ , he realized. _So... so many..._

His head was still struggling with the concept that all of them were somehow directed into the area they were standing in. Saber was the fastest to grasp the consequences. Simon heard a sudden shriek as he pulled his girl Master behind his shield, covering her with everything he's got.

"What are you-", she began, still overwhelmed by surprise.

"Do not worry, petite lionne. I will not allow you to come to any harm, even if it costs my life."

She stared into his eyes with both confusion and terror.

"Can you shield yourself against so many?"

He gave a wry smile: "You have heard my words."

They were the only ones Simon considered to have some chance of survival. Both he and Roza stood awestruck in the middle of the plains, having no cover whatsoever. The boy Master of Archer seemed in the same situation, his Servant stand a couple of meters in front of them, looking as if he wanted to stare down the approaching end of the world. Trembling, Simon looked up at the black cloud rising high above. There was no chance of escape. Rider got them exactly where he wanted.

"I'm sorry", Roza whispered next to him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

All Simon was able to reply was a sigh.

 _Well, so much for that..._

Pierced by hundreds of arrows... that was really not the death he had expected to die in the 21st century. With no chance to escape, all he could do was stand there and await the inevitable together with the Soviet ghost who had crashed into his life only a couple of days ago. Everyone was waiting, it seemed. The only one who was still moving was Archer who took a couple of steps forward. His bow was still lowered, it didn't look like he wanted to face them in a desperate suicide attack. No, instead he raised his right hand, as if grasping the sky above. No, as if ordering the enemy to halt with his gesture. Simon had barely time to frown as he heard the words:

" **Hut en hah Reneput en Usermaatre-setepenre!** "

The ground beneath them trembled. What at first looked like a shockwave emitted from Archer's position turned out to be something far more strange. The grass they were standing on burned to ashes within seconds, but the flames were harmless and never even touched the humans. All what was left was the ground beneath them, white sand bright and untouched by any roots. This was not the same ground they were standing on a second before. And as soon as Simon realized that, rows of thick cylindrical columns came crashing out of the ground, erecting themselves as if trying to pierce the heaven. At this point the volley of arrows had already passed the climax of their arc, now turning their pointy ends down towards their victims, threatening to rain down upon them in a deadly shower. The sky was already blackened by them, but the utter darkness that swallowed them was not a result of them for once. In one swift motion, some kind of solid roof grew over the columns and completed the building Archer had summoned.

Simon stumbled backwards. With his eyes not used to this darkness and them being completely shut off from any daylight, they were practically blind. The only sense he could trust was given to him by his ears. The only audible sound reminded him suspiciously of rain drops drumming softly, harmlessly on the roof, even though he was quite certain this was a rain he really didn't want to get into.

As soon as the onslaught ceased, the building came to life. Two at a time, torches adorning the walls came to life, fending off the darkness with flickering warm light and the smell of smoke. Simon had been barely able to realize what Archer was erecting, but now that he found himself out of danger and with his senses returned to him, he could not help but look around in awe. This stone monument was enormous. A long hall stretching out at least as large as a football field, the heavy roof being kept in place by twin rows of brightly painted limestone columns. Each of them was thicker than any wooden tree would have the right to be, each of them was covered with highly detailed paintings, portraying richly dressed people in a multitude of scenes, commented by indecipherable hieroglyphs. Simon was sure that a historian would have a field day in this place. Everything around him spelled decadence and yet it was mixed with some unsettling amount of mystery, especially considering the lack of any natural light sources. The imminent danger from only a couple of seconds ago had vanished though. The group of six people was standing here in roughly same position as before in the open field. They were at the far opposite of the heavy looking wooden double doors which were the only apparent entrance, standing in front of a heavy stone altar that you can reach when walking in a straight line through the open space between the columns.

"Where... where are we now?", Simon asked aghast.

"Egypt, most likely", the boy Kai gave a nervous smile. "Or still in Einzbern forest, more or less."

"Another Noble Phantasm...", Simon realized aghast.

"Wow, you guys really wanted to make a close call", the girl Sabrina exclaimed, freeing herself from the protective grip of the similarly stunned Saber.

Kai simply stood there confused as everyone else was.

"I really didn't know Archer could do something like this, he-", he stopped as he turned towards his Servant and witnessed how he was staggering backwards, leaning on the altar in order to stop himself from falling. "Hey, hey, is everything alright?"

The pharaoh shook his head, grinding his teeth.

"This... is not... how this Noble Phantasm is supposed... to be used", his voice was pained and thin.

His Master stepped closer, looking rather helplessly at his companion.

"What do you mean?"

"Rider... he must enter... the temple."

"What if he sends in his army first?", Sabrina asked immediately.

"Rider... must enter... the temple", Archer insisted.

Simon didn't know whether it was the reflected light of the cackling torches or some inherent aspect of the pharaoh's deep red eyes, but his intend gaze at the group sent a shiver through him.

"Aye, then that's what we'll do", Saber announced, stepping at Roza's side. "Will you be prepared for this, girl-at-arms?"

Assassin presented a rare seen frown.

"Just don't get into my line of fire, knight."

Saber's reply was a cocky grin appearing under his beard.

"Very well, it will be an honor to fight alongside so curious a warrior", drawing his sword he was half turned towards the entrance.

"Saber, wait!", Sabrina called out. "You sure about this?"

He turned back towards them again, his expression softening for a second when looking at his girl Master, only to return to a grin that looked even more fiery and bloodthirsty than ever.

"Don't you see what is happening here, petite lionne? Three heroes from across all ages facing off against the hordes which brought the mighty Roman Empire to its knees", the dim torchlight gave his exposed teeth a vicious edge to it. "This is exactly why I have answered your call!"

"And here I thought you have answered because I reminded you of your mother...", Sabrina shot back, forcing a smile on her face.

Kai next to them shot her an irritated glance at that notion, but Saber laughed it off in a way that echoed through the cavernous temple.

"Oh right, that as well!", and with that he turned around and marched alone against the entrance, the tip of his lowered sword clicking here and there as he scraped the marvellous floor in his impatience.

"We are surrounded by madmen", Simon whispered to Roza.

She answered with a casual shrug:

"At least this place is slightly better to defend than the open field", taking her rifle from her shoulder, she strode behind the altar Archer was still leaning against. "May I?"

The pharaoh nodded and shuffled to the side as Assassin positioned herself behind the cover. From there she had a great view upon the door and everyone who would take the direct path towards them. But it doesn't take a tactical genius to realize that the columns were obstructing her quite a bit, with every enemy using them as cover being as good as untouchable. The Masters moved behind the altar like Roza did, as far away from the enemy as possible. Simon was still unsure whether they were going to survive this or not. It was true that this siege was more promising than being slaughtered outside, but this historian's wet dream threatened to become their tomb. And glancing at the pharaoh, who was leaning left to the altar, he wasn't quite in agreement with Saber's assessment that they had three heroes to defend this place. Grimacing, he went to Roza's left and watched her taking aim at the entrance.

"Prepare yourself, girl-at-arms!", Saber announced from afar, his voice echoing through the darkness.

The heavy doors were still sealed, but when he listened closely, there was some other sound to be heard next to the cackling of the flames. Some faint rattling sound...

 _By now they must have surrounded the temple._

The rattling sound intensified and now even from the other side of the hall he could see that the doors were bending outwardly as if someone or something was pulling at it. Saber retreated to the side to give Roza all the room she was going to need, his drawn sword flashing menacingly as he saluted to the riflewoman.

"It's kind of a shame", Assassin whispered suddenly.

Simon leaned closer to her.

"What is?"

"Fighting in a place like this, I mean", she gave him an uneasy smile. "I know it's just an illusion, but I think it's wrong to spill blood in this."

"Agreed...", he looked at the rich paintings around them. "It oozes history."

He then glanced at the pharaoh next to them.

 _His history, to be sure..._

His thinking was interrupted as the doors of the entrance finally shattered. It were the hinges that were taken out first, so when they went to the ground, the doors in their entirety were swept off by the horses which dragged them into the invading sunlight and out of his view.

The enemy didn't take long to wait for their chance to get in. A distant, brutal war cry entered the temple and a second later numerous armed warriors poured in from both sides. With swords, spears and round shields they looked ferocious and confident in their numerical advantage, even though Roza did her best to prove them how far you get with nothing but thoughtless bravery in 20th century warfare. The first one through the door was the first one to be struck down. The Nagant's muzzle blast swept away the darkness so that the bullet may found its target. Simon had to grind his teeth as the Soviet sniper unleashed her rifle again and again. She didn't hold back now. The staccato of violent bangs had a surreally high frequency and every single of these high-succession shots was a kill.

The warriors of late antiquity proved far more unfazed by the onslaught than he had expected. Simon had to abandon the faint hope that they would cower upon meeting modern firearms. But regardless of their tenacity, the charge into the hall slowed down a little due to them stumbling over their own fallen comrades. Very much like the wild animals that had ambushed them a couple of days before, those soldiers slowly evaporated into a dark blue mist, even though this one had some streaks of gold in it. But also much like those wild animals, it took some time until they disappeared and as the number of corpses with horrifying holes in chest and face piled up, their ranks fell in disarray.

Simon staggered backwards. His whole body felt cold, the pounding of his heart nearly rivalled Roza's relentless bangs and clicks.

 _This is not real... this is not fucking real..._

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the carnage. And yet each shot reminded him of the very real battle he was witnessing.

 _Damn it... only a minute ago I gave my permission for her to murder her way through those guys... Why does this feel even more insane now?_

He realized he couldn't watch them fall. Ghosts or not, their mortal wounds looked terribly real, even with them fading. This was no game. And this Grail War now turned out to be far more war-like than Roza's first description sounded.

"Dieu et mon droit!", a shout cracked through the air like thunder, forcing Simon's eyes open to see what had happened.

Apparently Saber had charged right into the middle of the unending stream of attackers, crashing shield first into the side of their column. Metal scraped metal as dozens of them were sent tumbling into each other and to the ground, some of them even starting to emit this blue mist. Simon was once again struck by how awfully quick the knight was in battle. He hadn't even noticed him swinging his sword and yet he must have used the confusion of his tackle to cut several of them down.

 _Hell, Roza will never be able to defeat that red devil..._

Some of those who had managed to run further into the hall turned around to watch out for the rampage behind them. Those who kept charging proved short-lived as Roza made short work of them with merciless accuracy, but with each wave they still had covered more and more ground. Apparently Saber wanted to relieve her a little. He retreated to the right, drumming with his sword on his shield to provoke the attackers to follow him. And quite a lot of the newcomers complied, charging into him with bold cries before he disappeared behind the columns and out of Simon's view.

Since he was forced to only watch and hope, he did just that. Leaving Roza, Archer and the other Masters at the altar, he tried see how Saber fared by moving to the far right, into the space between the two rows of columns. From there he could still see the knight near the entrance, or more appropriately the carnage he was leaving behind. On first glance he looked surrounded by enemies, but the more he watched the warriors go down in a swirl of blue and gold, he realized that Saber knew exactly what he was doing. He had a solid wall to his right, preventing him from getting surrounded from all sides, he used his shield to screen himself from their attacks and here and there Simon was even make out his sword darting forward with insane speed, cutting through mail and flesh as if it weren't even there.

 _He looks like he could keep this up forever._

He was utterly dominating the fight. Rider's warriors moved like ordinary men, some trying to get into his back while some tried to pin him down with their spears, but everyone who dared to come too close was immediately sent to the ground with a strike so sudden nobody could ever dream to parry it.

 _This is what Roza meant with her being a comparatively weak Heroic Spirit. This one is insane..._

He looked back to his left where the sniper's shots were still flashing into the darkness, but also where Archer stood, watching everything with a pained expression.

 _Is he the same? He should be, given his age. But why does he look like about to fall over?_

Simon's train of thought was interrupted when he noticed a couple of rugged warriors emerging from between the columns on Roza's left. They obviously did exactly what he was afraid they were doing, taking the path alongside the walls with the columns as their cover. Even they themselves seemed a little surprised with how little resistance they managed to get into Assassin's back. Some even shot Archer a wary look, as if they feared he would attack them in a similarly devastating fashion as Saber did with their less fortunate brothers in arms on the right flank. But since he seemed to pay them no attention, they deemed Assassin to be the greatest immediate threat and charged at her with long strides. While the teenagers retreated further into the back of the hall, Simon instead unconsciously went back towards the altar, his heart racing as the danger approached.

"Look out!", he yelled towards the seemingly oblivious Roza, who was still awfully concentrated on thinning the attackers in front of her.

The sting in his chest when he watched one of the warriors raising his sword behind her felt like someone had stabbed him himself right there. The enemy was obviously making the same assumption Simon did, that while Assassin may be deadly from afar, she would go down rather quickly if forced into close combat, especially if ganged up upon by such a large number of opponents.

"Hab tu!", the foremost warrior yelled.

And yet Roza surprised him once more. In one swift motion she abandoned her position and jumped right up close into the enemy. That one looked just as surprised as Simon did, even more so when a thin steel blade buried itself deeply in his unprotected jaw, mortally piercing his skull.

Assassin quickly pulled her freshly attached bayonet out and kicked the soon about to be disappearing corpse over. In the same motion, she pointed her rifle at one enemy to the left and accompanied by a loud bang and a blinding flash of light, the man sunk to his knees grunting and holding his bursting stomach. The other attackers took a step backwards, startled about the sudden ferocity of this modern soldier.

"Waargh!", not giving them any time to regroup, Roza now charged them herself.

If this had been modern trench-warfare, Roza likely would have made mincemeat out of them. But these ancient warriors were far better equipped for close combat. Assassin had to hack a shield out of her way to stab one enemy through his chain mail and when another one came to his assistance, the blow with the butt of her rifle she dished out to him was remarkably non-lethal.

 _Come on, get away from them!_

Her moment of surprise was short-lived. Many more had chosen to attack through the left flank and soon all these warriors had swarmed the area around the altar. Kai and Sabrina tried to get away from them, but with nothing but cold stone and locked doors behind them, there was no way of escaping. While they were rushing away from them, Simon jumped up as he saw Assassin being swarmed by a dozen enemies, disappearing from his view until he caught a glimpse of her green uniform between their legs, she was kicked to the ground.

"Roza!", his brain short-circuited. He didn't know what to do in case he managed to actually get to her, but he knew he couldn't just stand there watching how she'd get slaughtered. But the moment he approached the group, one warrior stepped into his view seemingly appearing out of nowhere. The strike came faster than he had any time to react. At first it looked like he just hammered down upon his neck with his bare fist, it took him a second to realize that there was a sword in his hand, but in the same moment being hit by its pommel sent a wave of pain through all of his bones. He struggled against it with all its might, but with his legs turning to pudding, he helplessly slumped to the ground. Looking up, the warrior was still looming above him, now pointing with the tip of his sword at his neck. On first glance a fierce looking man in rusted chain mail and with an unwashed beard, but he seemed a little unsure, looking back and forth between Simon and somewhere else. And it was not the crowd that had surrounded Roza.

"Net be-", he addressed Simon, interrupting himself. "Noli movere!"

 _Damn it_ , he thought through gritted teeth. _They are going to kill her..._

Looking at the steel in his face, it suddenly dawned upon him that he should also worry about his own safety. Even though this train of thought made him immediately wonder why he was still alive in the first place. They seemed to have little objections to riddling them with arrows only shortly before, but now they proved surprisingly non-lethal towards the Masters and even the admittedly not very threatening Archer who was held at sword-point much like he was.

"In the name of Tengri, cease your futile attempt at resistance already!", a gruff voice echoed through the temple.

Simon as well as his captor looked towards its source in one motion. He was a little hindered by his vantage point, but considering that its owner had the boldness to enter the temple on horseback, he had a pretty good view upon the head of that person who riding up to the altar.

 _Rider!_

It was a strange feeling. Triumph and crushing hopelessness mingled to utter confusion. They had indeed succeeded in luring their opponent into the temple, but it was apparently too late. Looking around he saw Kai and Sabrina being cornered by warriors, Roza pressed to the ground and Archer being completely surrounded by a group that looked a tad lost at his lack of resistance. It seemed Rider's call was aimed only at Saber from whose corner of the temple still sounds of battle rang. Simon guessed that if it had been only this madman, he could have resisted all day long.

"You have fought valiantly, but ultimately for naught. Your Masters are at my mercy", Rider called out and the remaining struggle from behind the columns died down immediately. "I offer them their lives in exchange for you laying down your arms. It might be regrettable that I am not able to offer you the same, but you know the rules. Don't even attempt to bargain."

 _What kind of deal is that? He is going to kill them regardless what happens. And us as soon as they can't protect us._

Simon found himself glaring at his captor. It would only take a word for this bearded berserker to slash his throat.

 _Don't listen to him, Saber, you are the only one to-_

His silent prayer was interrupted by a quiet laugh that was more a sneer than actual amusement. It was only possible for him to hear it due to everyone keeping quite to wait for a reply. And the source of this laughter...

 _Archer?_

The fence of spears surrounding him drew closer as he smiled at Rider smugly. These warriors around him exchanged nervous glances, apparently just waiting for the order to get rid of whatever this one cooked up.

"Why bargaining with someone who is already dead?", the pharaoh asked, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"What nonsense are you babbling about? Has this defeat crushed your mind, charioteer?", a scowling Rider shot back.

"I speak only truth. You have died the moment you have entered the temple", he raised his arms as wide as if in prayer, completely unfazed by the large number of pointy tips targeted at him by some very nervous looking fellows.

The sentence was ended with a thunderous bang from the front door, causing everyone in the hall to flinch. Simon had to admit that he was just as frightened by that sudden change of mood than their enemy was. Even he could sense that something in the air had just changed. He also knew that he had seen some movement from among the warriors surrounding Archer. Some weren't only jumping over the sudden fright, they tried to stab at him with their spears. But for some reason everyone looked like frozen in place. When he then looked at his own captor, he looked into a wide eyed face. The man was gritting his teeth. Simon couldn't say why he knew it, but he was suddenly aware that any threat from him was gone. He stood up and yet the sword that had been at his throat made no intention of following him, stopping him. Completely puzzled, Simon returned his attention to Archer and Rider.

"What is this place?", Rider tensed, apparently still weighing whether it was worthwhile to just ride Archer down and be done with it.

"A source of true immortality. A House of a Million Years", Archer gave a tired smile. "Here _**I**_ am God."

Another thunder erupted. All the lights behind the altar had vanished, plunging all of those in darkness, who stood near the doors there. Simon heard the strained voices of Rider's companions. They both cursed and murmured prayers in foreign tongues, but the language of fear was pretty universal. A third thunder drowned them out. This time it were the heavy wooden doors that Simon had though to be locked until then, but now flew open with a crack like a whip. Something followed, the darkness itself seemed in motion. Simon's eyes were not yet adjusted, he couldn't see any details. The only one he could see were his panicking captor right next to him and Rider, who was still outside of the darkness, but busy calming his shying horse.

Then the dying started.

It started with a single shriek, directly followed up by another one. And another one. And then another. With increasing frequency Rider's warriors were caught by the things coming with the darkness, only giving a single cry before being silenced forever. The darkness mingled with blue mist, at least before more and more flames within the temple flickered and died. With each extinguished torch the darkness crept forward, consuming the temple more and more, and with it more invaders were swallowed by their doom. As soon as the torches at the columns near the altar died, a swirling, snarling shadow grabbed his captor and swallowed him whole. Despite looking directly at it, it was a beast far beyond Simon's understanding, black and misshapen and utterly alien. It moved on to his next victim with unrelenting violence. He was still frozen in shock, but Simon still managed to witness Rider's fall.

"You bastard...", a wide-eyed horseman of the apocalypse cursed as he found himself surrounded by the dark.

It had swallowed everything behind and between the columns, but now also the torches on the inner columns died out, plunging the entire hall into pitch black darkness. The only light now visible was the faint glow of Rider's curved sword as he charged against Archer, whose captors had already stopped existing. He tried to get to the enemy with one swift movement, but the shadows had already gotten to him, at first only blocking Simon's view upon his magic sword, but then.

" **Isten Kard-jaaargh!** "

A ghastly tearing sound echoed through the darkness and Simon was for once happy that he couldn't see a thing. He only knew that this was the moment Rider was overwhelmed by the creatures Archer commanded.

The darkness then made way for blinding light. Warmth returned to his limbs as Simon Berger found himself back in the forest clearing near Einzbern, the familiar sound of bustling traffic and the chirping of nearby birds were giving no indication that something was out of the ordinary, that anything had happened at all. At least if you ignored the splintered trees and furrows in the ground. They had returned to the normal world at once, every single one of them. He saw the teenagers Kai and Sabrina standing in a corner to his left, Saber with still drawn sword in another to his right. Nobody dared to move. Archer stood tall in the centre, staring at the direction where Rider used to be, even though now there was no trace of either him or his army. Between Simon and Archer lay Roza on her back, her rifle still grasped with both hands as if to shield herself with it. Simon stumbled towards her.

"Everything alright?", he tried to go to his knees, but slumped down instead.

"Just a little roughened up", she answered with thin voice, looking just as shocked as he did.

They both looked at the towering pharaoh.

 _What the hell is this guy?_

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Archer let go a heavy sigh. And with every last bit of tension gone, his legs gave way and he fell into the grass like a puppet with cut strings.

"Archer!", his Master cried out, rushing towards him.

* * *

And it's stats time (as usual, the character themes are youtube links, just put it behind the dot com):

 **Class:** Archer (also summonable as Rider)

 **Identity:** Ramesses II.

 **Alignment:** Lawful Good

 **Strength:** C

 **Endurance:** B

 **Agility:** A

 **Mana:** B

 **Luck:** B

 **Noble Phantasm:** A++

* * *

 **Class Skills:**

 **Independant Action:** A

 **Magic Resistance:** A+

* * *

 **Personal Skills:**

 **Divinity:** A+

 **Riding:** D

 **Charisma:** C

 **Eye of the Mind (True):** B

 **Imperial Privilege:** B

* * *

 **Noble Phantasms:**

 **Merkebet-Re - Devine Chariot of Ra (Anti-Army):** B+

Summons the agile chariot Ramesses commanded in life. As in history, the chariot is not made for direct combat, but as a platform to greatly increase Ramesses' speed and reach on the battlefield. It is the symbol of the Egyptian way of archery.

 **Hotep en Netscher - Divine Peace (Thaumaturgy):** A+

As one of the two signers on the earliest still preserved peace treaty, Ramesses can write down contracts with other individuals, forever binding them to their promises. Hotep en Netscher explicitly only works with the consent of both parties and only to arrangements both consciously agree upon. Once the pact is completed, the document will serve as a prana converter boosting both parties equally as long as the pact stays active. Hattusili III. likely shares this Noble Phantasm.

 **Hut en hah Reneput en Usermaatre-setepenre - Ramesseum (Anti-Army):** EX

Reality-Marble

A reality marble containing Ramesses' greatest temple dedicated to himself. Being deified during his lifetime, Ramesses already has a high Divinity ranking, but inside the borders of the temple, the prayers of his subjects transform him into a true god.

* * *

 **Character Theme:**

watch?v=DakyJe97NvE

* * *

 **Class:** Rider (also summonable as Saber or Archer)

 **Identity:** Attila

 **Alignment:** Chaotic Evil

 **Strength:** B

 **Endurance:** C

 **Agility:** B

 **Mana:** C

 **Luck:** C

 **Noble Phantasm:** A++

* * *

 **Class Skills:**

 **Riding:** C

 **Magic Resistance:** C

* * *

 **Personal Skills:**

 **Military Tactics:** C

 **Charisma:** C

* * *

 **Noble Phantasms:**

* * *

 **Isten Kardja - Sword of Tengri (Anti-Unit):** C

The sword blessed by the Hunnic war god, hidden beneath the earth and promised to the man who shall rule the world. Since Tengri is a god who is said to both give life and death equally, the sword contains a similar equivalent exchange. It can kill anything in a way eerily similar to the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but each death has to be bought with life. Rider can pay the price for ordinary humans and abstract concepts from his own mana reservoir, but using it as a shortcut to kill a Servant will most likely take his own life.

 **Second Seal - The Scourge of God (Anti-Army):** EX

Reality Marble

A Reality Marble containing the legendary horde of the Huns and their Germanic allies. Having marked the earth through terror and fear, they lived on in the memory of the human race as a sign for the end of the world.

* * *

 **Character Theme:**

watch?v=j-vHiXZ-tyo


	19. Chapter 18 - Kai

First of all, I want to apologize to everyone who is still waiting so patiently. I am well aware that this chapter is long, long overdue. As a little explanation, I am currently in the middle of something called a 'practice semester', which is a great way for those college students who study to become teachers to get some field experience by actually teaching in a school. But juggling school, lectures and work all at once is a suffocating workload, especially considering how much the university likes to barge in and rob you the bare rest of your free time. So I had to write this chapter during train trips and breaks in the staff room.

But rest assured, it is finally here! And I promise you, that there is a whole lot of story to catch up with! Have fun! And please forgive the delays. My glacial pace will sadly continue till February the next year.

* * *

Interlude

Heavy footsteps echoed through the spiralling steps. Steps Jubstacheit rarely ever climbed down. Usually he had no reason to. Why should he? Why should a craftsman waste his precious time with failures? He should carry onwards, to the next project, the knowledge of why he failed being the only token that needs to be considered.

Jubstacheit stepped out into a dense fog. Darkness had swallowed the place in front of him, a half-hearted attempt to shroud the mysteries within. She had taken a strange fondness to the underground lake beneath the castle. For him it was nothing more but a garbage dump, but she seemed to enjoy outfitting and expanding this place. It was beyond him why anyone should prefer these bloated sewers to a proper floor in a tower, but now that he was walking along the paved shore he had to admit that she had made quite a few sensible modifications in order to increase the strategic worth of her position. Even though that also made it a pain to reach her.

After a couple of minutes of circumcising the basin, Jubstacheit grew slightly impatient. He had long lost control of the measurements of this place, surely a side effect of the spells woven into this makeshift workshop of hers. But he would prefer if she would offer him a direct path towards her.

 _There it is..._

He walked towards a shape in the darkness that made soft knocking sounds against the side of the basin. A small boat anchored in this underground lake.

 _Waves? Somebody seems to like it nostalgic..._

Grimacing about both the waste of mana and the bothersome way of passage, Jubstacheit stepped down into the swaying vessel. He had neither the intention to sit down, nor to make use of the rudders, but thankfully he didn't need to. The boat immediately set out on its own, following a straight path through the thick fog. Soon enough the old magus lost sight of the shore and found himself in the middle of the dark lake, crawling onwards slowly and steadily. The only source of light was a faint glow from below the water, a glow that illuminated the fog to make it visible, but was not enough to allow him to see more than two meters in front of him. Jubstacheit was sure any pitiful being without the blessing of knowledge would have despaired, unknowing how much this place was magically expanded, but he was just impatiently enduring the trip, waiting for his destination to break out of the fog.

And after a couple of uneventful minutes, it eventually did. The shape of a small natural island that by all rules of logic shouldn't be there appeared in front of him. Jubstacheit paid her odd choice of a workshop no mind, he was only annoyed at the glacial pace with which he had to reach her. The boat went softly ashore at the island and the old magus lost no time climbing out of it. The island may have been overgrown with pitch black plants, more shadows than actual flora, but due to its tiny size it took him only few steps to reach the little wooden hut in its center. Countless red and green eyes watched him warily as he approached it, whether they were silent guardians or just pets, he did not know. He didn't care either way. Jubstacheit only needed to talk to their mistress.

The door of the hut opened, inviting him into its inside. Now he entered what resembled a proper workshop the most. Shelves filled with ingredients, gemstones and magical tools. Some were borrowed from his own workshop, but most she crafted by herself. He silently acknowledged that she kept herself busy, even though he had sometimes doubted her resolve. And even now this hint of doubt crept up in his mind when he finally found her amidst her toys. She was a tall woman with curly black hair hanging out of her hood, she was wrapped into a tight green robe and currently busy working with a cumbersome loom. Jubstacheit had no way of telling whether the fabric she was weaving was about to become part of a mystic code or whether she was just using it to pass her time. In any case, she was so concentrated on her work that she never even raised her eyes upon the entering of her guest, forcing him to raise his voice first.

"If you are in need of new garments, you could have just asked", Jubstacheit announced darkly.

The woman stopped in her tracks, looking up. Her piercing red eyes looked straight into his. Her expression was one of utter superiority, a fact that bemused the old magus to no end. Apparently some things never changed between the millennia.

"No offence, but I doubt the magecraft of this age is able to satisfy my needs", she purred amiably.

 _So it is a mystic code..._

Jubstacheit grunted.

"Might be. But a magus from the Age of Gods should have better things to do than leisurely let the days pass on an artificial island."

"More criticism?", she laughed darkly. "And here I thought you came to apologize after what you have surely witnessed."

The old magus frowned. He was not used to being looked down upon, but he knew that it could come to this after having summoned a Servant of this particular class. Therefore he was already expecting to step carefully in order to get her cooperation.

"Indeed, I am surprised that events have started to get into our favour. Especially after your half-hearted attempts to seize the initiative. I started to get the feeling you do not care about victory when you did nothing but send out your minions."

"When you called me forth, I had not taken you for the impatient sort, Master", she smirked under her hood, a dark smile that gave him the impression she knew something he didn't.

"You know my goal, Caster."

"Oh yes, reclaiming your lost magic. But after hunting the grail for centuries a couple of days should not mean that much to you. Especially when we can easily wait for our enemies' demise."

He knew she was right, that was what bothered him the most. With him being the only Magus participating, the other pawns had no way to replenish their mana. Every battle they fought against each other played in their favour. Every exertion against Caster's easily replaced minions slowly whittled them down until they couldn't defend themselves anymore.

"Rider was a nuisance. A threat only to our secrecy", Jubstacheit admitted. "It is good he was taken care of. But it was especially lucky Archer exhausted himself in the battle. The king of kings was the only one who could have been dangerous to our cause. Still..."

He didn't need to pay any mind to the Masters. Saber and Archer already fought Lancer and it seemed obvious they were going to attack her together the next time. A battle Archer almost certainly wouldn't survive. But Rider had stirred up trouble.

"It may prove a mistake to let those pawns roam so freely. We have already drawn the attention of both Church and Mage's Association. That would have been averted by dealing with them yourself."

Caster eyed him warily.

"I'd rather prefer you wouldn't imply I act out of cowardice. It may be right that I am not inclined to share the fate of my niece in this Grail War, but my only intention is to help you achieve your low ambitions."

Jubstacheit grunted. It was an uncomfortable thought to speak with a magus so powerful that she looked down upon his life's entire reason.

"But before you leave, let me ask you a question", Caster continued.

"Regarding our strategy?", he asked back.

"Regarding fate", Caster purred, resting her elbows on the loom.

The old magus suppressed a sigh.

"Go on, then."

"How far are you willing to go to fulfil your wish?"

"This wish surpasses my irrelevant self. It is not only my duty, you could very well say it is my fate", he didn't even need to think about this, this answer was already engraved on his heart.

"How far?", Caster repeated strongly. "How much is it worth to you?"

"Everything", Jubstacheit replied easily.

The woman sighed, her head sinking.

"I see. So you have stopped caring about the consequences a century or two ago..."

Jubstacheit tilted his head. This assumption confused him.

"You don't know me", he growled.

"You are right. Maybe I thought too favourable of you. Maybe you never cared. Or were never able to care. Very well, I shall accept you answer."

 _She has to accept it, she is bound to me._

When he turned around, he was still thinking how disappointed she looked like regardless of her acceptance. While he didn't need her approval for anything, it irked him that she made it sound like she knew something he didn't. When he stepped out of the door, he heard a faint whisper behind him, resigned and yet scornful.

"... Fool..."

Chapter 18 - Kai

It was a strange procession that was crawling through the streets of Einzbern this afternoon. Apparently consisting of four rather unremarkable teenagers, it also included a bulky Saber with mail beneath his brightly coloured coat, carrying an unconscious pharaoh on his back. At this time of the day nobody would have believed them if they had claimed to be returning from a costume festival, but at least the few old people they ran into were too polite to ask any questions, remaining content with blank stares.

Kai sighed. Saber assured him that Hotep en Netscher kept Archer alive and would slowly restore the mana he had drained. But seeing the stoic bastard faint from exhaustion was still a haunting sight. Even more than the gruesome way in which he overpowered and slaughtered Rider and his men. Because for Kai it meant that his unfazed protector had reached his limits in his last effort to safe them.

 _I can't let him die... he still has to go save his son._

But at least they had found new allies, or so he at least hoped. Next to him and Sabrina walked Simon and Assassin. Maybe it was a specialty of the Assassin class, but after the fight she somehow summoned casual clothes and easily blended in with the Masters. It was really hard to imagine this girl with her bright smiles being the same person who effortlessly slaughtered numerous of Rider's warriors with her ear-shattering rifle. The flash of her muzzle illuminating the darkness in the cavernous temple again and again... the picture really didn't connect with her as she was strolling alongside them through the peaceful town.

"So... how long have you guys been together?", Kai asked to break the uneasy silence.

"What?", he seemed to have broken Simon out of his own train of thought since he reacted in utter confusion.

"You and Assassin. Since when are you two roaming the city?"

They were an odd duo to be sure. While there was always some distance between Kai and Archer not only due to the pharaoh's stilted behaviour but also the obvious age gap, Simon and Assassin were about the same age. It may be the similar amount of life experience, but for some reason they cooperated much more casually than Team Archer and Team Saber.

"Oh! Yeah... well, it's the fourth day for us. Even though it feels quite a bit longer", Simon replied, scratching his neck. "I actually wanted to ask that myself. How long has it been you guys were dragged into this?"

"It is also the fourth day for me", Kai admitted, his eyes trailing off towards Sabrina who gave no indication she wanted to answer. "A day more for her."

"I see", for some reason Simon gave a sigh of relieve.

Sabrina had proved a little wary so far, but since she agreed to lead them to her place, Kai guessed she wanted to give their unexpected new allies a shot herself. Of course she had objected and complained, but Kai managed to convince her that his home was too risky. His parents might come home earlier today and not knowing how long it will take to discuss the matters at hand, it might have happened that they would have stumbled into their talk. And since they were already expecting the worst regarding his acquaintances...

"Don't worry", he had said then. "I can give them my address as well, then we're equal. But come on, do they look like they would come and kill us in our sleep?"

"You know, that class name doesn't sound very assuring for that...", Sabrina groaned.

"Haha, sorry, I can't help that", Assassin chimed in at that. "It's just how my kind is classified in this odd war. If you fear me sneaking up to you, we could just go home and resume the war tomorrow."

"No, no", Kai interjected at that haphazardly. "That wouldn't do. We shouldn't forget how we fought together and there is still something we need to talk about without anyone listening."

"I don't like it, but he's right", Sabrina said to her. "There is... well, we better hurry and get it over with."

And that's exactly what they did. Falk Manor, as Kai affectionally dubbed it by now, was only a small trip away. When they entered it, Simon seemed slightly awed at its creepy charm while Assassin eyed her surroundings with a more serious expression than before.

"Anything amiss?", Simon asked her.

"Huh... it's nothing, sorry", she shook her head in confusion. "I thought... no, it's nothing."

Kai had to suppress a grin. Falk Manor seemed threatening on the outside, but was astonishingly ordinary when entering. It seemed to him that Assassin was taken aback by that and tried to avoid irritating Sabrina about it. Before getting to business, Kai accompanied Saber to one of the unused bedrooms where he lay down the still unconscious Archer. The pharaoh's Master looked at him helplessly. To him Ramesses always looked lean and muscular, but right now haggard seemed to be a more fitting description. In this condition his sharp features made him look a decade older, a sight worrying Kai more than he could admit.

"He will be fine", Saber grunted. "He's tougher than this. And by now it wouldn't surprise me if he's got another neat trick to help him out."

Kai looked up at the crimson knight's words. He had been awfully pumped up about this battle when they coordinated their hunt, so seeing him thoughtful like this after a job well done only added to Kai's gloominess.

"The temple surprised you quite a lot, didn't it?", Kai asked carefully.

"It would be a lie if I say it doesn't irk me", the knight admitted. "It's a terrifying curse he's got there."

 _One even a holy sword would be no match against..._

"And yet he never used it in his battle against you, even when you threatened to turn the tables against him."

"Aye", a wary smile appeared under his beard. "I guess I can be grateful for an ally whose first instinct is to cross swords honourably."

With that they returned below to the living room. Simon and Assassin were seated on one couch, Sabrina on the other, contemplating what to say. Two days have passed since Archer had interrupted their gathering here by firing his Noble Phantasm and their alliance had always been awkward. So it was strange for Kai to take place at Sabrina's right, while Saber took her left. But it was right, they were already allies and now it was time to greet the two newcomers.

"Well, let's cut right to the topic", Sabrina announced. "You said you were dragged into this? Truth be told, we are as well. And we believe someone who has joined this conflict willingly is targeting us."

The two exchanged glances.

"How exactly?", Simon frowned at them.

"Whenever our Servants aren't looking, half a zoo is trying to kill us", Sabrina answered with a groan.

"It is a craven who remains in the shadows", Saber added.

For some reason Sabrina grimaced when he said that. Simon was looking at Assassin for help as well.

"We encountered just that the moment I was summoned", Assassin explained. "A trap, a bounded field set up exactly at the moment Simon triggered the magic circle."

"Bounded field?", Kai asked curiously, they were apparently a little more versed in the tricks of their enemy than they were.

Even though he thought that, it was still Saber who answered.

"Some foul sorcery. Don't ask the details, but it is apparently a common way to hide the battles of the Grail War from unwanted attention."

"I see..."

"Anyway, we've spend the last couple of days destroying all magic circles hidden in the town in order to prevent anyone else to stumble into this conflict", Simon continued, then making a resigned waving motion towards the other two Masters. "Well, so much for that."

"Oh... so you were responsible for that in the abandoned factory", Kai thought aloud.

"Huh?"

Kai gave a soft sigh. Archer would have been better at explaining this.

"I tried to find the magic circle Archer was summoned from, only to find it smashed. I guess that were you."

"We were", Simon formed a frown. "What the hell did you do in _that_ neighbourhood?"

"Please don't ask..."

"Whatever", Sabrina interjected. "In any case, we have reason to assume that this particular enemy hides in the castle above Einzbern."

"To be specific, we assume that the old von Einzberns are still lurking around", Kai added. "According to our Servants, the Grail system was created by them, so it seems logical they are participating. And being some kinds of strange wizards, they are possibly even more dangerous than Rider."

Simon seemed unsure what to make of that, he once again turned towards Assassin.

"You knew that?"

"Ah... well, I thought it odd that the name of the city is the same as that of the founders of this ritual. In any case, I didn't know their dwelling is common knowledge around here."

"The castle may be common knowledge, but as far as I know nobody lives there anymore. It's just an abandoned ruin", Simon shrugged.

"So the city kid hiked up there to look for himself?", she gave a vicious smirk.

Her Master laughed sourly.

"Not really. But some of my classmates back in primary school claimed they did. And they found nothing more than cold rocks."

"Who knows what trickery they used to mess with their minds", Saber mused darkly.

A short silence fell upon them. Speculating about an unseen enemy seemed to make everyone wary.

"So you guys are proposing we go up into the forest and look for ourselves?", Simon asked.

"I don't like it either, but it seems like the only way to be sure. And I really want to get rid of those beasts that are constantly observing us", Sabrina said.

"Agreed. I would like to finish that as soon as Archer recovers. I know, I know, we are supposed to be enemies and every Heroic Spirit has his wishes to fight for", Kai looked at Assassin who listened to everyone attentively. "I think we can go back to fighting each other afterwards, but as long as someone is just sitting at the sidelines, waiting to pick on any stragglers, we shouldn't waste our energy."

Kai's thoughts hovered over what he was forced to do as long as Archer was unconscious. He couldn't go home without the risk of getting intercepted or even worse, attacked while his parents were around. So his only chance of survival was to stick around Saber until the pharaoh woke up. And that annoyed him to no end.

"I have to warn you, then", Assassin spoke up. "I'm not very effective in frontal assaults, so I don't know I can help you with that. But I can help with the scouting work."

"We appreciate everything", Sabrina said, obviously not very amused of the prospect of Saber bearing the brunt of the battle.

"And it's not that you don't get anything in return", Kai added. "Archer has a special Noble Phantasm that supports alliances like this. Well... if he were able to, we could have sealed everything up right here and now. I guess we have to wait until he has recovered."

"Don't worry, we like to help either way", Simon then decided. "Those places these people have placed magic circles in... Trust me, he deserves to be dealt with as swiftly as Rider did."

Kai received this reaction with a content nod. From the moment Archer told him that he was drawn into this weird Battle Royale, he had hoped that he wouldn't be forced to fight alone. And now with Archer in critical condition, relying on those who found themselves in the same situation seemed like the best bet.

 _Assassin and her Master... dangerous foes, but they fortunately seem like honest people. They could have retreated after we have taken over the fight that she was loosing, but instead they joined us to bring an end to a threat to outsiders... and instead of leaving us for good, they decided to stick around and come to this parlay._

"So... shall we wait for Archer to wake up?", Simon finally asked.

Despite the question being posed at him, he had to turn to Saber for an answer. But even the royal knight could only give a heavy shrug.

"My pardons, I can't tell how long he needs to rest. It may be better if we just inform you when we should meet again."

"I see", Assassin said, making a pitying face.

Simon took out his mobile phone and they swiftly exchanged numbers. Kai mused whether it would be now appropriate to create a contact group 'Grail War Participants', but decided against it. Meanwhile Assassin looked around with keen eyes. At first it seemed like she was just startled by Sabrina's surprisingly mundane living room after entering the overgrown manor, just as Kai was the first time he saw this, but then even her Master noticed.

"Anything wrong?", he asked.

"Ah, I don't know. I just thought I sensed something again."

"What do you mean? Are we spied upon?", Simon seemed taken aback.

"Could it be?", Sabrina was especially aghast, of course since it was her house.

Assassin looked worried.

"I'm not sure. I think I sensed the same when we entered, but it was so faint I didn't think anything of it. It was far more faint than any living being I have sensed so far."

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?", Kai interjected.

"Presence detection", Saber muttered under his beard, his expression having turned suddenly a whole lot darker.

Kai gulped. So there is a possibility that something was hiding here even before they had even arrived.

"I think we couldn't stop the enemy from noticing that we are fighting together, especially after that show we gave him out there near the autobahn", he observed. "But... could he try to eavesdrop upon us with something smaller than his usual creatures?"

"It's not here, I haven't sensed anything during our conversation", Assassin dismissed it.

"But something could be crawling around my house?", Sabrina said warily.

"Let us just take a look", Simon proposed. "If we find nothing and prove that it was a false alarm, we can rest assured."

"Agreed", Sabrina said hastily. "And if it's indeed false alarm, I have to get back at you guys for giving me the creeps."

Now all of them raised and followed Assassin back to the front door, tracing their steps. They were quietly watching as she was concentrating on the source of her uncomfortable feeling.

"And?", Sabrina asked.

"It's not here."

Sabrina sighed in relieve, only for the markswoman to shake her head.

"No, wait, it's... below?"

"Any pets we should know about?", Kai asked with a faint smile.

"Quit the jokes, my parents never allowed any", the girl snapped back. "There shouldn't be anything of worth in the cellar and I'm not exactly sure what you're going for."

"Master, it doesn't seem like our fellow allies are here to satisfy their curiosity. There is no risk in letting them take a look."

Sabrina begrudgingly agreed and so she led them to the door to the cellar, showing them the few steps down into the darkness. Kai found it... not all that spectacular. Just like the living room it was surprisingly ordinary, nothing more than a tightly packed storage room with a couple of old and dusty cupboards, paper boxes and the like. Kai glimpsed a few Christmas decorations here and there, otherwise the only oddity to be observed was that it was remarkably tidy, at least compared to the mess that was Kai's attic that was used for the same purpose. When you tend to just throw everything unwieldy and unneeded on a pile, it usually ends up in a spectacularly looking mount defying all physics and threatening to bury you at the slightest provocation. But this storage here didn't look like the one at his home, you could actually walk between the shelves. Only the dim light and the bare brick walls damaged this impressive feat somewhat by reminding them in what kind of manor they had found themselves after all.

"If there is anything hiding here, it will be a cakewalk to find it", he mused, turning towards Sabrina. "Are you the one keeping this here in check?"

"Eh, I'm afraid my dear sister is the one deserving your praise", she replied bitterly. "Keeping it tidy is something of an obsession of hers."

Of course they weren't here to look for spots of dust, so all attention returned to Assassin. And she glared towards a wall right in front of them.

"Is something here?", Simon asked.

"Faintly, yes. But still not in this room", was her wary reply.

"This can't be", Sabrina said. "There are no other rooms down here."

As to prove her words, she wandered down the path between the shelves and knocked against the cold wall.

"See? A dead end."

"Maybe you have a literal mole down here", Kai tried to lighten up the mood, but nobody reacted.

"I'm sorry, but something isn't right here", Assassin insisted. "And something isn't right with this wall."

She walked up to Sabrina and put both her hands on it, both eyes fixed on the bricks as if glaring right through them.

"This isn't a wall", she observed curtly.

"Don't be absurd", the owner of the house seemed taken aback.

Saber joined the two girls, eying it warily.

"It looks solid to me, but if Assassin is right...", he turned towards his Master. "There is a way to find out the truth, but it is your decision, petite lionne."

"I'm not giving you my leave for wanton destruction", she groaned.

"Ah, you do me injustice, milady. A little scratch is all it takes", the knight gave a half-hearted chuckle.

Sabrina still hesitated a moment, looking at the wall as if staring it down would have been her first resort. Then she finally nodded.

"Fine. A small scratch, nothing more."

"Aye", the crimson knight drew his sword soundlessly.

Holding Excalibur right in front of him, its meaningful runes flared up in a rush of gold.

Kai noticed Sabrina's eyes widening at the prospect of him launching his Noble Phantasm right here. But he never had to speak its name. All he wanted to do was coat the edge of his sword with the holy light that could cut basically everything. And with this edge he softly brushed the bare stones in front of him. A brush that normally would have drawn a single small line through brick and mortar. But there wasn't even enough time for that to form before a huge segment of the wall simply shattered like glass.

While the shards rained down, everyone present just stared in disbelieve at this most unusual sight. The solid wall now had a perfect door-shaped hole in it. By all means it was not the strangest thing that they had witnessed so far, but here down in the own home of Sabrina, a sudden chill went down of Kai's spine.

"What's happening", Sabrina gasped, slowly entering with a blank expression.

Saber stayed close behind her and Assassin entered next. Kai and Simon exchanged worried glances before doing the same. The dim light of the cellar barely reached this new chamber and yet some kind of light source drenched it in an eerie dark green.

 _For the love of..._

Kai couldn't help but gape. For some weird reason he found this place oddly fitting. It clicked perfectly into place given Falk Manor's outward appearance. A dark chamber with raw stone walls, desks cramped with scrolls and notebooks ranging from ancient to most recent. Shelves full of strange potions and in the middle of it...

 _Bloody hell!_

Instinctively he took a step backwards when he realized what it was Sabrina, Assassin and Richard were gathering around. It was the source of the green glow, a giant glass tube fused halfway into the wall. Something looked floating inside of it, but upon further observation it turned out to be fixed into position by a number of steel hooks. Upon entering Kai had assumed it was just some kind of large tissue that needed to be conserved in the fluid like so many of the small jars in the shelves contained. But now that he realized what it was, his heart felt like it took a sudden stab. This shape... his conscious mind tried to deny it, it was too absurd a thought, but unconsciously he already knew what this lump of flesh used to be.

 _A... corpse? This looks like some sick biology experiment._

It was a human torso, naked, bloated and lacking all extremities, but head and rump were still vaguely recognizable. The limps and arms however... the long scraps of dead skin floating in the tank made it look like they were torn apart by a swarm of piranhas. Just looking at it was nauseating.

"Mon dieu...", Saber cursed softly.

"What is this place?", Simon asked perplexed.

"I think the answer is clear", said a pale Assassin.

"It's the workshop of a Magus", Saber finished.

Kai gulped, daring another look at the gruesome display.

"It isn't him, isn't he?", he asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Quite unlikely", Saber whispered darkly.

He now stepped towards Sabrina. She never evaded her gaze, it was fixed upon the tank and she bore a troubling expression he had difficulty to read. Sabrina was obviously just as shocked as they were. Of course he wanted to ask her of her guesses since it was her cellar they had found this troubling chamber in. But there was something else in her expression that gave him pause. Was it... anger? Or disappointment?

 _Does she know more than she let on?_

It was a ridiculous thought. True, he only knew her for a couple of days and she was always so distrustful of everyone. But the very fact that she invited all of them down here showed that she struggled with this trait of hers, trying to find excuses to allow others into her life. They never would have been here in the first place if she doesn't want to trust people after all. By no means she was trying to hide this.

"This... this is what I perceived", the thin voice of Assassin broke the silence.

"But that would mean...", Simon began, choking on his own words.

"... it's still alive."

"Fils de Dieu Sauveur!", Saber was crossing himself hastily.

"You can't be serious", Sabrina whispered faintly.

"I'm afraid I am", Assassin replied.

 _How is this even possible?_

"How... how aware is he?", Simon asked, obviously struggling to keep his lunch inside.

 _How could he? He doesn't have fucking eyes!_

His face looked like rotted away and then half-way healed again, leaving it a shapeless mass with flesh grown over the eye sockets.

"With such foul sorcery it is hard to tell", Saber declared before turning towards Sabrina. "Master. Please allow me to put him out of his misery."

"I...", Sabrina now finally turned around, letting her shoulders sag helplessly. "I don't know."

"You can't mean to keep it like this", Saber urged.

Sabrina stepped towards one of the two desks. Several sheets were on open display and so was a large dagger with a ruby crafted into its pommel. It seems she was looking at the papers, but in this darkness it was hard to tell whether she was able to decipher any of the handwriting.

"I don't know what's right anymore... I don't know what to make of this..."

Kai went towards her, knowing that he should say something. But he had no words that seemed appropriate. He was still shaken himself, he could only imagine how much of a nightmare this was to her. Such a disturbing scene right in her own home. If it were his, he would have trouble sleeping this night.

"Sabrina, you...", he began. "We don't want to force you to anything, but Saber is right..."

"I know very well how it is...", she slammed with her fist on the table, barely missing the dagger in the darkness. She was holding her head with the other one.

Kai looked down upon the papers scattered through her burst of anger. There were numbers on it, but the handwriting was small and difficult to read under these conditions. They looked less like magic and more like observations of an experiment. Was this the laboratory of a mad scientist who used to own this house? Kai drove his finger along the surface of the wooden desk. It was dusty, but certainly not as dusty as if this was abandoned a long time ago.

"Don't!", Sabrina threw him out of his train of thought just as things clicked into place.

He looked up. She was now staring intently at him, obviously thinking he was able to read these notes.

"Please, get out! All of you!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Just... get out!", she repeated, urgently, her voice turning to a shriek.

They stopped exploring and left the chamber just as it was. And then the cellar with the hole still gaping in the wall. Sabrina hid her face when she led them onwards, the only thing Kai saw was her back turned towards them, even though he heard her sniffle here and there.

"Saber, bring them out", she ordered curtly before disappearing into the living room without another word.

Kai, Simon and Assassin had no choice but allowing themselves to be escorted outside. The Lionheart looked morose about all of it.

"Don't judge her too harshly", he told them. "She just needs time to sort her feelings out."

"I guess I understand", Kai replied, suddenly remembering that he had no business outside. "I want to give her time for herself, but I thought I could stay until Archer..."

"Why not come to our place?", Simon asked suddenly. "It will likely get a little stuffed, but there is still room for another guest."

He looked back and forth between Assassin and her Master.

"That would be right with you?"

Both gave a shrug for an answer. A gesture so carefree it made him laugh uneasily.

"I guess I should better ask whether this is right for me. I am at your mercy after all."

 _And then there is explaining this to my parents..._

"Thanks, anyway. It is good to know that there are honest people despite this whole ugly mess we are caught in", Kai turned back to Saber.

"No worries", the knight said immediately. "I will send Archer to you as soon as he recovers."

"Thank you... and... take good care of Sabrina."

"I will... even though I am convinced she will make a decision of her own soon enough", he gave a weary smile.

With that they said their goodbyes and went out into the afternoon streets of Einzbern. Kai felt awful. The nausea may have subsided after the fresh air replaced the dampness of the creepy chamber, but now it was loneliness that had set in. He thought he had been able to construct an alliance, but from one moment to the next they were down half of their number. And the only ones accompanying him were people he had just met. Under normal circumstances he would still have had Ramesses hovering around him, the pharaoh who was at his side from the very beginning. And he knew Sabrina and Saber just as long, even with the occasional bumpiness of their working together. Walking down the streets of Einzbern accompanied by new faces was not how he expected this day to end.

"So... where exactly do you guys live?", Kai asked to break the silence.

"Ah... I share a flat near the station with a couple of fellow students", was Simon's answer. "It can be a little crowded sometimes, but there will be no problem with you joining today."

"We only need a story how we learned to know you", Assassin mused. "Bringing a school kid along will raise questions."

On the way to the bus station they made up their plans. Even though Simon was really bad at proposing anything, Roza proposed that he ran away from home and come to think of it, it wouldn't be too unreasonable a choice of story since that's what he was basically doing. The wrath of his parents was basically already assured... So before the bus arrived, he called at home and told the tape that he was going to sleepover at a friend's place. An announcement so sudden and uncharacteristic for him that their suspicions were guaranteed.

 _Curious... they are still not at home? And here I thought they wanted to be earlier to avoid the jam caused by the construction work. If I had known that... maybe there wouldn't have been need to go to Sabrina's place. And then we would have never..._

He tried to get that thought out of his mind. Of course it would have been easier, never finding this dreadful place. But then this poor soul might have been trapped down there forever... without the chance of Sabrina releasing him from his horrifying fate.

After the arrival of the bus they also started some casual chatting, at least as casual as it came when it came to two Masters in a Grail War. Kai found out that Simon was a medicine student at the closest university who was currently 'enjoying' his lecture-free time. Upon the question why he was able to go hunting steppe hordes at midday Kai had to begrudgingly admit his part in the destruction of his school. About Assassin he couldn't find out much more. She was amiable, joined the discussion here and there, but kept her own opinion strangely hidden. From what he had witnessed in the battle against Rider she must have been from a very recent time period, her rifle looking like it could be out of any of the World Wars, even though the very modern scope made the second one more likely.

 _Her uniform makes her look like an enlisted soldier. Not many armies allowed that, so that greatly decreases the possibilities of who she is._

At the same time he thought about Archer's words that Heroic Spirits are powered by the fame they received throughout history. There was no denying that Ramesses was pretty damn powerful through this mechanic, but how powerful was she? She fared well enough in battle, but was quickly overwhelmed as soon as she was forced into close combat.

 _If Archer gets the idea to prove his worth in a duel over the distance, I need to kick his ass..._

The trip to Simon's apartment went relatively quickly. It was very central and had a good connection to the public transports after all. Upon entering he was introduced to two of the aforementioned students whose names Kai much to his embarrassment quickly forgot. The third one was roaming the city and his return was unlikely to be before late evening. Assassin managed the part of telling his cover story while Simon just stood back and let her do. Kai observed much to his surprise how casual everyone interacted with the Heroic Spirit. Archer spent most of his time in Spirit Form, trying to avoid attention, but Assassin was obviously used to be treated like an ordinary guest.

 _Could that have worked? Thinking up an excuse to formally allow him to sleep under our roof?_

He had to dismiss the thought. It worked here because everyone was about the same age. Bringing home an adult foreign-looking guy would have scared the hell out of his parents. And even now that he knew that a spirit could wear casual clothes, imagining Ramesses dressed up in some of his father's old clothes would still somehow looked out of place. The bastard was too imposing, too... royal for that to work. Or maybe it was just the way he always looked so disconnected from everyone around him...

In any case, Kai had found himself in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. There was little he was talking with them and what he did sounded awkward and was interrupted my many silences. Fitting, he thought, his cover story made him look like a desperate refugee who needed a little time for himself before reconciling with his parents. So he remained outside of most conversations anyway. Somewhere along this he had hoped that Archer would appear at any moment so that he could scratch sleeping over here and just get home. But at the time far into the evening when Simon brought him some sheets to sleep on the common room's couch, he knew that it was already too late.

"Thanks again", Kai said after preparations were finished. "I actually don't know what I would have done if not for your offer.

"Camping outside Sabrina's house?", Simon proposed with an uneasy smile.

"Maybe. If it meant my survival? In any case... you guys give me hope that we can end this conflict without any more unnecessary bloodshed."

"Good to know. Well, I myself hope we can start with the planning of our assault as soon as possible."

And with that even he disappeared, leaving Kai behind in the common room. Uneasily he began with the preparations for the night, only looking at his shut down mobile phone twice during the procedure. He had to endure for the time being. Maybe he and his parents could laugh it all off after this war is over. Thus, he tried to find at least some sleep, hoping for a dream with a familiar voice...

 **Valley of Kings, 1279 BC**

Torches lit the way through the narrow corridors as they descended into the mountain in a long procession. The path was often too narrow for more than two people to walk side by side, so the sarcophagus was carried on a wooden stretcher with two servants in front and two servants in the back. Right behind them walked Ramesses and his first wife Nefertari, Queen Tuya was right behind them and from there on the rest of the royal family followed behind. The path led them along magnificently painted walls, woven with both magic formulas and crucial passages of the Book of Death so that the deceased could prepare himself for when he stood in front of the Gods. They also passed chambers stuffed with both personal belongings and the finest tools of convenience one could possibly need in the life after life.

 _This would be the last kingdom for Menmaatre to rule over. It was a sudden death. Shocking, but not too unexpected. The king rarely complained about his health, but his queen knew better, she knew of his repeated trouble with a weak heart. Therefore everyone was prepared for when it ultimately stopped beating._

The end of their path was the final and richest chamber. In the middle of it, a giant gleaming white stone sarcophagus stood, in a way resembling the great pyramids of old. Like the pyramids, it was made to last forever. The servants seemed glad to be finally able to lower the golden inner sarcophagus into its final resting place. They then stepped politely to the side as Ramesses approached it with his wife.

 _Thereafter a large ceremony at his temple of death would be held, but this was the last chance for private farewells._

"You did well", the young son of Ra said, hoping that his soul was still bound to hear him.

"He did", Nefertari agreed. "The people will speak on his behalf."

"Good", Ramesses' expression looked pained, a sad smile on his face. "I hope he will not be weighed down by me."

 _His mortal father never openly crossed the king, but sometimes he wished he did. At least for the assurance that he was part of his father's life after all._

Ramesses turned around, addressing the few close people who had followed him into the chamber. Far too many belongings were strewn across the ground for more than half a dozen people to fit in here.

"Osiris will have to be careful. For someone has crossed the river who could rival him at his governing."

A few sad smiles replied to him, Tuya first before all. She also was it who stopped her son on his way out and led him to one of the side chambers. A dark room with a lifelike blue sky above, sparkled with stars.

 _Menmaatre was the first who attempted to freeze the daily life in place so thoroughly. If he had to live in this place for the rest of eternity, he wanted to do that not amidst plain walls of roughly hewn stone. He wanted them to come alive and so he made his tomb the most magnificent of all._

"You are alright, son?", she asked as soon as the others had passed.

"It is fine. This day was always destined to come."

"But will you be ready? He has left you so great of a burden. So much responsibility at once."

The young man raised his chin and straightened his chest.

"The king is prepared."

She eyed him warily.

"I see. I just hope... that you won't loose yourself, struggling to compete with a legacy that no human being could surpass."

That took Ramesses aback, he even looked slightly hurt at her notion.

"What makes you think it is impossible to surpass him?"

"He was pharaoh, a son of Ra. And now that his mortal heart stopped beating, he has stopped being human. He has become the memory of a great king, a god if you so will. We are just humans. Within the limit of a moment we cannot surpass a legacy."

"And there the king thinks you are wrong. From this day onwards, Kemet shall bath in the greatness that is its due. Every day. Every hour. Every moment. And it is this king's destiny to ensure this."

Tuya looked disappointed. She didn't reply immediately, but her sad expression quite clearly stated the silent advice to not do anything stupid. She knew her son far too well to expect such a boast to be without foundation.

"So you want to make yourself a name?"

The young man stepped out into the corridor, looking back with a confident smile.

"The king already has a name. The king shall be known as Usermaatre."

 _The first years of regency passed in an instant. The king set out to defeat his enemies and carve the name of Usermaatre into the stone of time and history. But while small insurrections and invasions kept him busy, he never lost the target out of sight that was supposed to make him surpass his already legendary predecessor: Kadesh._

Usermaatre looked over the fortifications of his camp with watchful eyes as he stood elevated on the platform of his chariot. It was exactly the same richly decorated one that would become his Merkebet-Re. Not only a fearsome weapon of highest quality, but also a vehicle blessed by the gods that has gained its own distinct personality in this way. The only difference was the addition of a bronze-tipped spear that was attached to the front right of the platform, allowing for an emergency weapon in close combat. Usermaatre also wore the richly ornamented and yet very light bronze armor in the shape of embracing falcon wings that he displayed in his Spirit Form.

"Imagine how thinned out our lines would be if the entire army had crowded this plain, my king", his young charioteer said, leaning onto the rails similar to how a young son of Ra did that when he saw this place for the first time.

 _Upuaut-necht was a young noble who had earned his place as the first royal charioteer through superior skills and unwavering loyalty. But despite that, he was not very experienced in the art of war._

"The king will have to disperse his troops even after their arrival. A single camp for twenty thousand would be unfeasible to defend. And the king's forces will be put to better use circumventing the city for a siege."

 _The words of his mortal father still rang dangerously in the king's ears. A fortified city was troublesome to deal with and the Kemetites had little experience in tearing one down. The only reliable way was to starve them out._

"I guess you are right... Of course you are, my king", Upuaut-necht replied with a sigh. "I just hope the rest of us comes soon. It feels strange, spearheading the march like this, within spitting distance of the enemy city."

 _It was the largest army Kemet had ever mustered. Two thousand chariots, three times as many chariot-runners, levies from both the kingdoms and mercenaries from its allies. And a unit of the king's trusted Sherden pirates amidst all of them. So far this campaign had been very successful in consolidating Kemet's control over Canaan. But during its entirety, the king's eye was fixed on Kadesh, the city his father failed to control. A march with all haste seemed the most prudent course of action. Reaching it and blocking its northern plain before the Hittites were able to send their relief force was his goal, therefore he divided his army into four equal parts. The division of Amun formed the vanguard, holding the line, while the division of Ra and Ptah followed in its trail and the division of Seth screened the coastal paths. In fact the king was already informed that the Hittites had mustered a massive army and were on their way._

"My pharaoh! My king!", a soldier ran up to the chariot with all haste.

"What is it?", Usermaatre turned to the bald young warrior.

"The scouts have returned with prisoners. They say they have information you want to hear immediately."

"I will see them at once", Usermaatre turned back to his driver. "You have heard the man."

"Aye, my king."

When the pharaoh entered the tent he was led to, he found two men in torn brown robes and protective cloth wrapped over their heads. They were bound in shackles and looked badly beaten up, it seemed like the scouts thrashed them the entire way to the camp with wooden sticks and then once more to make them talk. Usermaatre turned to the commanding officer of his scouting party.

"Another group of Shasu?", he asked.

"They may appear as simple nomads, but they have carried this."

He showed him a pair of clay shards with Akkadian cuneiform scratched into their inner sides. It was a very common writing language in this part of the empire, so it was no surprise in itself. But Usermaatre saw immediately that the numbers written down referred to something far greater than the puny accountants of simple goat herders.

"Who are you?", the pharaoh asked, towering over the captured enemy.

One of the soldiers thwacked one of them with the stick he was carrying, growling: "The son of Ra speaks to you, tell him what you've told us."

The man looked up, his eyes full of fear.

"We belong to the king of Hatti. He has sent us to spy on you."

"As expected. Where is he? This enemy from Hattusa? The king had heard that he was in the land of Khaleb, on his way to this place."

The prisoner gave a dark chuckle, one that caused the soldier behind him to give him another thwack, to teach him some manners.

"Oh, the king of the Hatti has already arrived, together with all the countries supporting him."

Usermaatre looked unfazed, but it was apparent that the information unsettled him, considering that he knelt down to be on eye-level with him.

"Who are they?", he asked threateningly.

"All of them! The Nahrin, the Dardanides, Arzawa, Lukka, even the king of Halba has arrived. Our men are more numerous than the grains of sand on the beach."

Usermaatre had heard enough. He rose and barked a single order before storming out of the tent:

"Fetch a scribe and get as many details about the enemy out of them as possible."

 _It was a futile attempt to get a grasp of a situation the king was already left in the dark for too long a time to change anything. When king Muwatalli was able to rally his client states from far away, they would outnumber even the largest force Kemet could muster. And they were already upon them. Now when they were spread thin._

The next scene to be witnessed came after a hasty war council. Usermaatre dispatched two riders to warn the Ra and Ptah division and ordered them to be prepared for anything, but since then they could only wait and hold the position as best as they could. Therefore he went to his own royal tent where his sons rested from the travel.

 _The king wanted to give his own children a better preparation for their duty than his father gave to him, so he wanted them to accompany him to his campaigns as soon as possible... in hindsight, especially when facing the situation they found themselves in, this may have not been one of his better notions._

The arrival of their father was reason enough for all four boys to scramble up to meet him. With their bare shaved heads and bare chests they looked like little warriors, but not only in the eyes of their father they were only children he had taken to a battlefield for no good reason. The youngest, the silent and bookish Khaemweset, was barely 4 years old while the oldest, Amenherkhepeshef, was 10.

"The king will make it brief", Usermaatre addressed them. "Battle will soon be upon this camp, young sons of Ra. It is of utmost necessity for you to make haste for the west to meet with the Seth division."

"And you remain here, father?", Prince Pareherwenemef asked.

"The king's place is at the side of his soldiers in battle, bringing glory to his name", the pharaoh nodded.

"So you don't want us to witness your victory and just get rid of us?", Amenherkhepeshef asked back.

The pharaoh bit his lip at that accusation. But before he could think of a reply, the young Pareherwenemef jumped to his defense.

"Father simply doesn't want us to get hurt."

The pharaoh knelt down to him, the bare hint of a smile on his lips.

"Indeed. The king has already summoned the escort for your safety. Now it will be your task to guide your brothers to safety."

His third-born son nodded eagerly over the unexpected task, even though his first-born was still objecting.

"But we have to be here to do anything. How could we help you defeat the enemy when we are fleeing?"

Usermaatre pondered about the question grimly before deciding to be as honest as possible.

"Your day to prove your valor will come. But it is not this day. For now this battle is one the king has to fight on his own."

 _And if it was supposed to be his last, then this may be his destiny._

He had no mind to hear further complaints. The royal guards escorted the princes to their chariots and Usermaatre saw them off himself, ensuring that they were safely on their way to the west before the battle commenced. It was then Khaemweset decided to storm off his chariot and run up to his father, taking off a peculiar amulet that had already caught his eye before.

"Take this, father."

"What is the meaning of this? You have no time to waste", Usermaatre urged him to go back.

"But it is a protective amulet, see", he pointed at the inscription on his backside, supporting the Ankh symbol on its front was a small dedication to Amun. "It was given to me by the head priest at Pi-Ramesses before we headed out."

"Then it is supposed to protect you, not the king", his father replied, still gently shoving him back to his chariot.

"But I'm not going into battle, you are."

Begrudgingly Usermaatre nodded, admitting he got a point, but his words were different.

"The king stands under the protection of Amun-Ra. The will of the gods is superior even to an army of millions, he will not die", he clasped Khaemweset's hand before lifting him back up onto the platform. "Keep it! And have a safe trip!"

That was his farewell. The chariots of the young princes dashed off, with Usermaatre watching the sad face of Khaemweset, still holding the amulet and looking back at him, disappearing into the distance. But there was no time for the pharaoh to draw a breath. As soon as his heirs were safe in the west, a cloud of dust was spotted in the south. When Usermaatre arrived in his chariot to take a look himself, scattered soldiers were running across the plains without tactic and formation.

"Those are ours", Upuaut-necht observed. "The Ra division?"

"Its remnants", the pharaoh observed darkly before turning to the royal runners. "Alert the camp, blow the horns! The infantry shall form a shield wall immediately!"

"What for?", his driver asked dumbfounded while the soldiers were running off. "When the Ra division is under attack, we need to advance and help them!"

"It is too late. For the Ra division to be routed, they must have hit them with full force. Muwatalli won't stop with that and he knows we are here."

"They will go for the camp next?", Upuat-necht realized aghast.

The pharaoh watched his spearmen assemble behind their makeshift barricades.

 _The king knew the Hittite tactics well. A frontal charge of their heavy chariots to scatter any formation, followed up by an amassed infantry charge to route them. This was the standard procedure. The only question remaining was how much distance was between the Hittite infantry and their spear-heading chariots. With the fight against Ra division still raging, there was a high chance it was just the chariots rushing for a decisive victory. At least this is what the king himself would have done in the place of his opponent. The camp should be able to barely withstand an amassed chariot attack, albeit with crippling casualties. But a combined assault while he had only a fourth of his numbers... it would mean total annihilation._

"Make way for the chariots!", the pharaoh shouted as the agile Kemetite war machines poured through gaps in the shield wall, assembling south of the camp.

 _Four hundred... Nowhere near enough against the amassed forces of the enemy. But it was better to break out of the camp and shield the survivors than to be stuck in the camp awaiting to be encircled. The king knew speed and archery was the key strength of his forces and it should not go to waste._

"Sons of Kemet!", he addressed his charioteers. "The cowardice of the enemy knows no bounds! The division of Ra is under attack! And yet Amun is with us, oh proud warriors! Prepare yourself to protect your brothers! The king needs two columns to shield the survivors! Race across the field and protect them from the chariots! Race onwards! Go!"

And with that they took up speed, charging to greet the fleeing infantrymen. The splendid chariots, with the one of the pharaoh being the most striking one that was leading the way.

"Stop in front of the first survivors, the kings needs to speak with them!", he told Upuaut-necht while he was driving the horses onwards.

"Aye."

The first group of survivors were a group of lone spearmen. At least most of them still had their spears, but they had obviously thrown away their shields when running for their lives. They were completely out of breath and covered with sweat when they stopped haphazardly to avoid running into the golden chariot that suddenly blocked their path.

"Halt, in the name of Ra!", Usermaatre's voice boomed, forcing even the last of them to listen and prevent them from just running around him.

They looked up and their eyes widened in recognition of who it was who talked to them. Some even threw themselves to the ground. Whether they were kneeling down or simply collapsing in exhaustion was difficult to guess.

"Tell me, what is the meaning of this display? What made the proud children of the Hapi river waver and flee in such disarray?"

"We're sorry, we're sorry...", the first man sobbed, the second just remained on the ground, gasping for breath.

Broken as they may be, they were no deserters. Otherwise they would not have run north in the vain hope of meeting with the Amun division as planned. They came in the hope to get someone to command them...

"Who gave the order to run?", Usermaatre demanded now.

"Nobody, my lord", the apologetic soldier said, resting on his spear like on a crutch. "There was nobody to give it..."

"What?", he considered that the man barely had time to think about this wording still caught him off guard.

"The chariots suddenly appeared, having crossed the river and forming up", his voice came now rushing out like a flash flood. "There was no time to meet them. Before they were upon us, the officers fled without leaving orders. The charioteers tried to face them, but... it were too many. They were everywhere. Men were crushed under their wheels and with no room to maneuver, our charioteers were overwhelmed. It was no battle, my lord, it was slaughter."

"How many footmen did you face?"

The man looked startled for a moment.

"None, my king. It were only the chariots, but more than enough of them."

That caused the king to form a tiny smile. With this information there was still hope. When Muwatalli hadn't crossed his river, they still had a chance to turn the tables.

"So you came to seek a proper battle to avenge your fallen brothers", he left him no room to either nod or reply. "And a battle you will get!"

Usermaatre then realized just how many were listening. While they were talking and the other chariots rushed past them, many of the fleeing soldiers stopped and gathered around the pharaoh's chariot. Together with his own chariot runners they had created a sizeable crowd in only few minutes. Usermaatre stared them down with reawakened spirit, pointing at a hill behind him.

"Everyone who is still armed shall gather and line up at this hill next to the camp. The chariot runners will lead the way. Everyone who lost his weapons shall return to the camp, reequip and join the shield wall. The pharaoh and his chariots shall buy you the time you need to regroup and return with new orders."

They didn't look very happy at the expectation of more running, but seeing the futility of facing the enemy exposed in the open field, they hurried to follow his orders. And with them showing the way, the other survivors knew whom to follow. As soon as they dispersed, Upuaut-necht spurred the horses onwards, making the chariot fly over the open terrain, straight towards the cloud of dusk that was rolling towards them from the river. The entire horizon was swallowed. by it. It looked like the world was ending. They easily had thrice their numbers.

 _The king's charioteers knew their task. There was no point in actually charging the Hittite lines, since every contact with a heavy Hittite chariot would mean the immediate breakdown of your own vessel. All they could do was making a wide turn in front of their lines while showering them with arrows and then retreating, hoping to gain enough momentum to not get overtaken._

"We have to save as many as we can, get the king as close as you dare", he ordered his driver while fetching his first arrow.

"So as daring as usual", Upuaut-necht replied with a resigned tone.

"The king wouldn't want it otherwise."

Usermaatre jammed his leg between railing and platform to get better balance, so now he only had to take aim and fire. With the battlefront approaching fast, this came earlier than expected. The majority of his chariot force had a headstart due to their short stop, so they witnessed the Kemetite battle line opening up in front of them, driving sharp turns to both sides to get away from the enemy, all the while a constant shower of arrows wheezed through the air. But then something went awry. Most chariots were able to speed up quickly, but in the center some were not so fortunate. Heavy black chariots dashed out of the dusk cloud, smashing into the pharaoh's forces and tore them apart. Their crews tumbled to the ground while their horses broke free and they were soon swallowed by the next wave.

 _With the whole river valley to accelerate, the Hittites had enough momentum to catch up with the Kemetite, even though it was just barely._

While the pharaoh was startled by this turn of events, he still fired arrow upon arrow to thin out the approaching destruction. It was his charioteer who took action, pulling hard on the reins to turn horses and vehicle. And Usermaatre was part of the vehicle, turning in the same motion, never loosing aim on his targets. He struck one of the two horses of the chariot right behind them, causing the beast to fall under its wheels and catapult its crew into the air. The wreckage disappeared rapidly into the distance and was forcing the other Hittites in its wake to circumvent it, relieving at least some immediate pressure from the pharaoh and his charioteer.

Then it happened in an instant. While the chariot was still reeling from the turn and its poor animals dragged it onwards to get back the lost speed, the first heavy chariots darted past them. And at once the enemy front line just swept over them like a wave on an unusually thunderous beach. They found themselves surrounded, cut off from the rest of their army. There was not a single word exchanged about their predicament, both knew exactly that escape was their only option. Upuaut-necht spurred the horses onwards while Usermaatre picked his targets and killed them in short order, drawing and loosing arrows without pause.

"It's their king! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!", the pharaoh wouldn't even need to understand their language to understand their intention, but he had enough of a grasp of it to know the shouts anyway.

Several chariots tried to encircle them. Those to the left and right drew closer, their warriors throwing spears at them. In their panic, they had not much of a chance to take aim or to consider the accelerating speed of those they pursued, so the first few projectiles missed badly, allowing Usermaatre to retaliate in kind. But he had not much of a chance to kill the crew of those three-men chariots, considering that not only the lower parts of the platform were guarded by heavy wood barriers, but that next to driver and warrior they had a shield-bearer with the sole purpose of defending its crew. His first arrow towards the driver of the chariot to their right was skillfully blocked by this one, forcing the pharaoh to aim at the horses instead. Managing to wound one, the enemy vehicle immediately steered hard to the left, but before it threatened to crash into them, the shrieking horse tumbled and the speeding platform was thrown to the side, making the whole wreckage disappear out of his view in a cloud of dust.

Usermaatre then quickly moved to the other side of the platform, taking aim at the second cart that was soon threatening to crash into them. But before he could get rid of it, he noticed a single spear closing in from the front. Before being able to realize what happened, Upuaut-necht sunk to the knees so suddenly, his hard pulling on the reins made the horses shriek in discomfort and made them dangerously slow down their pace. Leaving the enemy be, the pharaoh whirled to catch his falling charioteer before it threw him off the platform. The spear was struck deeply into his chest, blood gushing out of the wound uncontrollably. He was still alive, clinging to the reins out of shock but maybe also out of duty. Even so, his eyes were widened with realization about his sudden fate. Upuaut-necht looked helplessly at his pharaoh, opening his mouth and closing it again without a spoken word. Then, with renewed determination, he took his reins and softly held them out to his pharaoh.

"No", was the only thing Ramesses was able to croak.

Once again, he offered the reins, this time placing them weakly against the pharaoh's heart. Shortly before his hands slipped away. The motion came so suddenly Ramesses had no choice but to grab them before the motion of the chariot would take them out of the platform. And the motion entailed more, something unexpected, he could only cry out when he realized what his dutiful charioteer was about to do.

"No!"

It was too late. Holding bow and reins with his hands, he only supported the fallen soldier with the weight of one arm. But with Upuaut-necht slipping away from his side, gravity took hold of the body immediately. Throwing himself to the ground behind the platform, he disappeared rapidly into the distance, covered by clouds of shaken up dirt. Just as shaken up as the pharaoh who found himself alone.

Standing up, he needed to adjust himself to the situation. The horses had steered hard to the right, pulling him deeper inside the enemy forces and somewhat away from the course he needed to catch up with his troops. The only bright side was, that the two chariots which managed to get in front of them were obviously not considering such a maneuver and were at this moment to his front left, where they struggled to avoid crashing into each other. With no other options but to drive himself, Usermaatre took the reins and bound them over his hip, a move he was used to from using the chariot on his own during hunting trips. He shouted and lashed at the horses to take up speed, before taking up his bright blue bow again. The enemy to the left had not disappeared. He took aim at the fighter in his heavy bronze armor who was standing at the ready with his spear to lash out as soon as the pharaoh came into striking distance. The shield-bearer saw that, rushing to his defense and falling for the pharaoh's feint. Adjusting his aim in one fast motion, he loosened and the bronze-tipped arrow found its target in the throat of the driver, who collapsed and disappeared with a spray of blood and with this caused the chariot to rapidly steer to the left, opening up a gap that Usermaatre used immediately.

With his own course correction to the left, into the wake of the disappearing foe, he was able to evade the two chariots in front of him that tried to force him to a slower pace. And since he had been able to instead gather a lot more speed with his light vehicle in contrast to the Hittites who had reached their limit, he was able to draw even with them and had only one of the two enemies threatening to attack. The hill he was making his run for drew closer, safety was at hand. Therefore he tried to get rid of them as fast as possible, loosening two arrows in fast succession, but the shield bearer protected his crew with lightning pace. Having missed his chance, the pharaoh realized that they had reached striking distance. Hastily Usermaatre put away his bow and fetched the spear that was attached to the platform. Seeing how the shield-bearer covered his platform, there was no way to attack them first, so all he did was waiting for the move of the spearman. As expected, the Hittite warrior lunged forward, overeager and overreaching. Usermaatre evaded the blow and instead grabbed the shaft of the spear with his left hand, using his hips to guide his horses further to the left. With his entire chariot behind the pull, he dragged the warrior over the edge of his cabin, away from the protection of his shield-bearer. A single stab with the spear his right hand was all it took to cut the man's throat, sending him flying down into the sand and make him disappear into the distance behind them.

Usermaatre took a breath and put his own spear back into its resting place. With the immediate danger dealt with, he now turned his borrowed Hittite spear around to give it right back to its original owner. He took aim, and threw the weapon towards the left horse pulling the cart. With the spear buried into the poor beast's side, it collapsed immediately and dragged the second horse with it. The platform with the two remaining soldiers crashed into the pile of horseflesh and turned over, only to cause a second chariot right behind it to be unable to evade the wreckage and crash into it as well. There was still one chariot left to deal with, but this one turned away and made for the campsite instead after their drivers saw that the lone pharaoh would be able to catch up with his own chariot forces hurrying for the hill. With that, the opening was perfect and Usermaatre reached the lines of his troops in no time.

All had gathered there. There were the wearied remnants of the Ra division, even including some chariots that had screened their retreat instead of getting crushed between their column and the Hittites. And there were also the supporting footmen of Amun division's chariot units, not to mention that the majority of the king's chariots had been able to outrun the Hittites after their sharp turn, unlike the pharaoh himself. He had survived, others not. He looked at the drops of blood on both the railing and the reins. Which was Upuaut-necht's, which was the enemies? Which was his? He looked at his left hand and saw that his flesh between thumb and index finger was cut open, likely by the rough edge of the bronze with which the spear he grabbed and its tip were connected. In any case, he couldn't tell. All he could do was to look down and watch what had happened down in the camp. The majority of the Hittite forces had crashed into it with full force before engaging in close combat. The shield wall was shattered, the entire site had turned into a messy brawl. Some of the charioteers had even stopped to dismount and take loot. With disgust, but also with certainty, the king turned to his troops.

"Sons of the black soil! Warriors of Ra and Amun!", he boomed. "The hour may look dire, but the enemy has exposed his weakest side! Look how foolish they are, entering the low waters of Sekhmet assured of their victory, not knowing that the king and his brave soldiers will soon be upon them! Your brothers defend the camp with all their might, so let the blood they spill not go to waste! Fall upon them, sons of Sekhmet! And like the holy animals of our war goddess, drag them into the abyss and drown them in the futility of their struggle! Finish it! Let no one escape!"

With that Usermaatre spurred his horses onwards and charged with his chariot down the hill. His chariot force followed him and in their wake the infantry screaming war and death at the enemy.

 _This was the crucial moment, the single action that swayed the tide of war. From this moment onwards, victory was assured. The king and his forces entered the devastated camp that had turned into a battlefield and slaughtered the Hittites who lost the advantage by forcing themselves to a pinched battle._

The scene changed once again. Usermaatre guided his chariot through the broken remnants of his camp. Losses among the infantry were heavy, but his mounted force assembled in front the camp as soon as the last fleeing Hittites were hunted down. The king oversaw the reconstruction of his forces. They were slightly boosted through the chariots of Ra division that had survived their catastrophe and guided the infantry to safety. But they were still no match for the Hittites if they decided to set over the river in force. And it was still not over...

... because at the horizon, a second wave assembled. It was still not the entire army and it looked somewhat smaller in numbers of chariots than the first one, but what they lacked in vehicles they had compensated with combined forces. Usermaatre recognized light infantry in their wake.

 _A hard fight was coming... but one that was not quite as hopeless as before. Shortly before the Hittites had set over, a rider arrived. It was one of those the king had sent out earlier to contact the other divisions. And he brought one message: Ptah was about to arrive!_

With that, Usermaatre drove his warriors once more out to battle. Because victory was assured. Through fierce fighting they bought enough time for Ptah division to strike at the enemy's back. And soon enough, the Hittites were surrounded and driven back towards the river. With no shallow passage at sight, they had to abandon their chariots and throw themselves into the current desperate to escape the Kemetite arrows and axes.

 _It was a costly victory, but a victory nonetheless. The captured chariots made a great display at the royal capital to give this message. But the true aim of the king was lost. He did not have the numbers anymore to hold the position and maintain a siege; he also did not have the engines to force a decision through assault. All he could do was leave Kadesh as soon as he regrouped with Seth division. A defeat shrouded by victory. And sons who should never know the true extent of their father's folly._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

Kai awoke in utter darkness. With no windows in the common room, he couldn't really tell whether it was dawn or still night, but in this unfamiliar atmosphere in an unfamiliar bed, he knew that he could hardly force himself back into sleep if it was indeed the latter. Fortunately, there was a familiar presence in the room.

"Archer?", he asked eagerly into the void, pushing himself up.

"Indeed, Nab Kai", the voice answered. "And didn't you settle for Hem Nyu?"

"Sorry", Kai replied, embarrassed that he forgot how proud he was that his 'Nab' actually intended to redub the Servant system into his native tongue.

 _Come to think of it, I scarcely addressed him in any formal way._

Two flickers moved in the shadows. The first one was the ancient bowman who was materializing in front of the couch. The second one was at the edge of the room, pushing the light switch in that very moment. It was Assassin.

"Welcome back among the living", she said, watching the two attentively.

 _How long did she stand there?_

Kai gulped, but she showed no signs of hostility. Instead, she noticed quite quickly how wary she had made her guest.

"Oh, don't worry, I just came because I sensed him approaching. You can't keep your eyes closed when this guy strolls in with the impact of a tank company."

He gave a slight chuckle before turning back to Archer.

"You've heard her. Next time you approach her more stealthily. It's the least you can do to repay her keeping an eye on me."

Except for a tiny frown the face of the pharaoh never twitched. Apparently he decided not to comment on it and gave Assassin an acknowledging nod.

"You have the king's gratitude for protecting his Nab from his enemies. It pains the king that the rules of this conflict forbid to form more than a temporary alliance."

 _There can only be one, after all..._

Assassin must have thought the same, grimacing slightly.

"Speaking of which: How is Sabrina doing?", Kai asked.

"Regrettably, the king never saw her himself. Saber assured him of her well-being though."

"So she was not able to make a decision as of yet...", he wondered how Ramesses saw her predicament. "How much do you know?"

The face of the pharaoh darkened.

"The king believes that Nab Sabrina is innocent for the crimes committed under her roof. But the situation is not as simple as shutting down an abandoned workshop. A Magus is involved. A Magus whose identity stands out of question. And with this, he poses a danger to every other Master", he now looked at Assassin who nodded begrudgingly. "If this Magus shows himself, he must be taken care of, no matter whether Nab Sabrina might object or not."

Kai had a vague feeling what he meant by both things he said. It doesn't take much guesswork to think up who owned this hideous laboratory. And the pharaoh never made a mystery out of his severe hatred towards magicians. He stated several times how glad he was that he wasn't summoned by a real one.

"In any case, we can't wrap up a new Hotep en Netscher without Sabrina's participation", Kai thought loudly.

"It would be improper indeed. The king agrees."

"Don't worry", Assassin interjected. "We could as well use the time to defuse the remaining summoning circles. If you could help me and Simon out, we would appreciate that very much."

They immediately agreed. At this point, Archer's spell was pure formality anyway. They had to work together to assault this castle and the two had already proven to be reliable. The rest of the morning was rather uneventful then. As soon as the other students woke up Archer was forced to disappear again and Kai hung around in order to make sure to not run into his parents upon his return. But as soon as it was possible for him, he made his farewells and began the tiresome travel back home.

He and the pharaoh arrived around ten in the morning. It was a strange feeling. It was still his home, but it felt somehow odd, walking in after sleeping somewhere else. Maybe it was because he never had much experience sleeping outside. He was a rather boring fellow after all and his friends in school were just as boring. And yet it seemed that in this short amount of time he had grown distant from the place. Indeed, when he was about to check the phone, he found a note in the handwriting of his mother left on the table.

"We have to talk."

Kai suppressed a sigh. He just wanted to take a shower, hole himself up in his bed and brace himself for the evening. There was no point in going out and join Simon and Assassin just yet.

 _I feel my resolve faltering. If I don't collect my thoughts, I won't be able to not go the easy way and let Archer show himself._

He still knew he shouldn't do it, but this whole charade exhausted him too much to go on like this. And he also wasn't sure if he was able to mend whatever damage he had already caused.

... a train of thought that was interrupted by the ringing of the bell.

Kai exchanged a wary glance with the pharaoh.

"The king does not sense the presence of another Hem. But he will be on his guard regardless."

He switched into spirit form, but still remained right behind him. It may even have been Simon himself, ensuring his safety. After all, Archer wasn't able to perceive Assassin. But when he swung the door open, another person towered above him. Accompanied by the suffocating smell of sweat and garlic.

"Good day to you, Kai Reymeyer", Kriminaloberkommissar Reinbrecht gave a cocky grin. "Nice to meet you around this time."

 _Oh shit..._


	20. Chapter 19 - Nina

Wow, half a year without update. That's... really unfortunate and I am terribly, terribly sorry! I know there has been a brave few I was able to entertain a little with this story and I severly hope that I haven't lost you.

So... lots of things have happened. I am still working on my Master Thesis, but it was a mistake to scratch my writing time in the hope that I'd manage to use it for my thesis. In the end my 'balance' was thrown out of whack and I ended up with a nasty case of burnout, wasting away staring at the screen all day. Now that I've picked up my stories again, working on the thesis flows again as well. Curious.

In completely utterly unrelated news, F/GO has attempted to make its own take on one of my Servants: This time it hits Penthesilea who became a naked teenage Berserker. Can't say I'm that fond of it. It's not their most disgusting interpretation (by far) but from what I've picked up of translations of her lines, seems more than a little disconcerting. In any case, I believe this makes it doubly ironic that it is another time for our Amazon Queen to shine.

Have fun!

* * *

Chapter 19 - Nina

 **Illium, 1184BC**

The boat swayed slightly with each wave that they passed. The current wasn't strong, strictly speaking, but the size of the tiny barge made it difficult not to be affected by the slightest turbulences. And yet Penthesilea was leaning on the rails, watching the landscape passing them as they crawled the small river upstream. With the dense forests of her homeland behind her, watching those empty plains with small hills scattered among them filled her with dread. Cause for this was not only the lack of cover that made them sitting ducks out here, it was the signs that their surroundings were once inhabited that startled her. The dry grass was spotted with patches of wheat which were strangled to death by weeds. It were enough of them to make it clear that this used to be wide farmland and fertile one at that.

"So you have spotted them already?", the voice of an old man called out to her.

"Indeed", was her solemn answer.

The owner of the ferry stepped to her side, a sad expression on his face. To show her understanding of the situation she pointed at the blackened remnants of wooden huts she had seen on a nearby slope. He nodded.

"I hope the owners are save behind the walls of the city."

"Some are. Many were not. And some even returned, trying to bring in one last harvest before these Greek barbarians came back for more blood", the old man explained.

 _Sieges in my time were not how you might imagine them. Only few peoples mastered the art of assault on a fortified position and many citadels, Troy included, were impenetrable even to them. Lacking the technology to take the city, the Greeks opted to starve them out. The Trojans endured for many years, not only because of their full granaries, but also because of their riches that allowed them to stock them up through trade by sea whenever the Greeks were not around to intervene. And that was often the case due to the unsteady pressure put on the city. There was no circumvallation, no trenches or constant encampments of the besieging army. They were unable to do that. If they did, they would starve themselves instead of the Trojans. With no supply from their home cities, they had no other choice but to wander Illium and the neighboring provinces, plundering and taking what they needed to survive. Of course, ten years of constant harassment had left their mark on country and people. Those who were still left that is..._

"I suppose it didn't go well for them", Penthesilea stated grimly.

"Not at all. They kill the men and drag women and children into slavery", he gave a dark chuckle. "But whom am I telling this? That's just the way war goes. The stronger carry it on the shoulders of the weaker. And you have surely seen more war in your young years than this old man in all of his."

"Not as much as you might think...", the queen admitted.

 _It was true that I had always itched for battle, taking somewhat pride in the picture other peoples paint of the Amazon nation. And yet this was not the nation my sister led. She made it her personal quest to prove them wrong, to make us a people of trade and agriculture in an attempt to stave off the destruction that our ways threatened to lead us to. Of course I quarreled with her often, kept reminding her of the traditionalists and made myself their rallying point, but I never once thought her less noble for her endeavor._

The old man didn't dare to doubt her words, so he left and watched how his sons took in the sails. The river barge was fairly large, but was still operated by only two young men. Some of Penthesilea's retinue offered to help out and were indeed gladly offered to do some of the simpler tasks.

"This is as far as I dare to get you", the old man announced with a heavy voice. "There used to be a landing stage a little further upstream, but I'm afraid it burned down along with our hut."

The queen grimaced in pity.

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Ah, just don't mind", he gave her an honest smile. "They haven't taken anything of true value. After all, the waters of our lord Scamander is the only home we need. And they can't take the river, can they?"

 _No, I thought back then. But they could drown him in it just as well._

"Just take care on your return trip", Penthesilea replied, watching how they lowered a crude stone anchor into the water. "I don't want you to run into any trouble for us. And your barge makes for an easy target."

"Only if they have chariots", the old men gave a dark chuckle. "And how desperate must the Greeks be if their leaders feel it necessary to move their royal asses for small prey like us? In any case, the current is on our side."

"Truly, it seems that your home protects you after all", an unsure smile formed on her lips, she was obviously assuring herself.

"Yes, young majesty. I am more concerned about you and your noble companions. You need to go swiftly for the city. I have heard there was fighting only very recently. It seems that the Greeks had returned for more plunder and the Trojans retaliated in kind. I am sorry, but I don't know any details of which party was favored by the gods this time. Though I have heard the Greeks have entrenched themselves near their ships, whatever that means for their plans."

"It means that they think victory is at hand", Penthesilea gave a resigned sigh.

He stared back at her thoughtfully, but didn't dare to raise any objections to them continuing their journey. It was this moment he must have realized that his guest had no intention to ask for a return trip. It was unlikely, at least. She exchanged hollow farewells and disembarked together with her brave dozen of warriors.

 _It is right. I never intended to see my home again. This quest, this foolish campaign, it was only an excuse to find salvation for my soul. I was a warrior for my whole life. Unlike my sister, I simply never bothered to learn anything other than how to fight. Therefore it comes to no surprise that this was the only path for me after I soiled my hands with her blood. A pointless crusade for a lost cause to stop the Erinyes from tormenting me every time someone dared to call me queen. I knew this was not the path of wisdom, but once again, wisdom was her path. Mine was destruction. And before I destroyed my people in my foolishness, I thought it safer to just destroy myself._

After watching the river barge turn and leave Penthesilea and her company started their way on a dusty road through the wild plains which had managed to shrug off the taming of men. Soon enough they left even these remnants of civilization and made for the cover of a nearby rock formation. Under the protection of both the high ground and the rugged hillside, they managed to zig-zag through the countryside, always the road in view, always on the lookout for trouble. The women-warriors who were clad in virtually the same bronze armor as their queen might have been the most fearsome fighters of their age, but they were still no match for an army, therefore they avoided running into Greek scouts as best as they could.

 _This path I have chosen was supposed to be only one for myself. And yet they call me queen, insisting that I could not travel as a lonesome hero but had to remind myself that I represent our people. With that in mind, lending my spear to the lost cause of Troy meant lending the spears of the Amazons to it. I knew I could not do that. I had already caused enough damage to the kingdom of my sister. Therefore I had to lower myself to a dark ploy to keep up the pretenses: To gather a party of twelve volunteers instead of mustering the Amazon arms. With twelve being an inherently powerful number, I could still claim that I left for Troy with a force fitting to a queen and was yet able to reduce the possible losses to only those who would willingly shed their blood. Admittedly, I was underestimating a little how many volunteered to accompany... and how many of the royal guards were among them. Those I had finally chosen consisted of many a familiar face. Alcibie and Thermodosa were first to step forward, being plagued by the same sorrows which befell me. The others were not inferior in skill and bravery. Blue eyed Clonie, Polemusa with her magnificient axe, Derinoe the speerwoman, young Evandre whose soft features betrayed her mettle, graceful Antandre, the old widow Bremusa, copper skinned Hippothoe, Ares beloved Harmothoe, foul-mouthed Derimacheia and the serious and silent Antibrote. They all joined their queen. They all joined... me._

They moved quickly and effectively. Even though they were heavily loaded with rations and the necessary tools of travel, Penthesilea consciously decided to do without mules which would just slow them down. Soon enough they reached a ridge from which they had a good view on the large plains of Illium. Before the awestruck Amazons, a sprawling city appeared within quite a distance, dominating the entire area. Its walls were tall and thick, completely blocking off the view upon the houses within their encirclement. The only part of the city rising above them was a second, much shorter, but even higher ring of walls guarding a plateau in the far back of the city. With this double defense, and the way it was cleverly built on a rolling ridge just before the ground fell steeply towards sea level, it was easy to see how it had the ocean and beaches behind it in an iron grip. Beaches and oceans which were oddly enough free of any visible ships or entrenchments. At least from what Penthesilea could see from her limited point of view. Still, she was not keen on pushing her luck, therefore she pushed her companions, driving them onwards towards the destination of their travel.

After a short march down into the valley, they finally opted to go for the road that brought them towards the main gate. It was protected by two massive stone towers. A rarity, since the city itself seemed to put more trust into the walls than its towers or maybe its inhabitants just had a problem constructing them on the difficult terrain. Whatever the case, the city looked more and more threatening with each step they took towards it. Upon nearing, the amazons spotted deep trenches surrounding the city, full of wooden spikes and other nasty surprises for would-be attackers. It looked more like a dry moat than anything else, but it still must have served its purpose. There were only few bridges across, some of them made dirt, a few of stone. The one of them in front of the main gate belonged to the latter. They crossed it unharmed and when they looked up above the raw stone walls, many helmeted figures were watching them warily.

"Who are you to approach our city so baldly in these dark times, warriors?", a male voice shouted down from the ramparts.

Alcibie stepped forward, raising her spear in a proud pose.

"Before you stands her majesty Queen Penthesilea of the Amazons! She has come to lend her strength in answer to your pleas, so open your gates!"

Penthesilea heard mutterings above, too faint to make out the words, but she could very well guess the intent. The mutterings however were soon followed by routine shouts, the clatter of removing heavy bars and soon enough the creaking of the winches pulling up the gate itself. Since it was heavily reinforced by bits of bronze in addition to the sturdy looking wood, this took precious seconds in which the armored amazons were forced to loiter pointlessly in plain view of the city's defenders. But when the gates finally widened enough for the entire group to pass through, Penthesilea personally lead the group inside.

Entering from wide open fields made of green plains and hills, the city of Troy was an immediate throwback into the comforts, but also the messiness of civilization. The main street inside was just as wide as the road that had led them to the gate, but here it was not a dry walkway, but more a combination of mud, dirt and human waste that felt awfully soft and sticky under the sandals. Around them were stout, quadratic houses of grey stone and brown clay placed so densely next to each other that you felt suffocated just by looking at them. And in the middle of all that stood thirteen proud Amazon warriors who were greeted by a number of male warriors in similar bronze attire, the leader of whom just stepped out of the gatehouse to fall in line with the rest of them. He had his green-feathered helmet tucked under his armpit, so Penthesilea had a good view on his youthful features when bowed in front of her.

"Please excuse the delay, your majesty. We have received your messenger three days ago and yet we haven't expected you to arrive ahead of your army."

The past years of war had added a weary ruggedness, but time itself didn't seem to bother the young nobleman in front of her.

"You are not wrong, Aeneas", the queen announced, extending her arms to present her assembled amazons. "These brave volunteers are all the army I need."

Aeneas seemed taken aback, simply staring at the amazons struggling for a few seconds to process that. Some of Penthesilea's companions smiled back smugly, others seemed annoyed. The queen herself was indifferent. She had expected such a reaction. The only part that she didn't expect was that Aeneas was the only one who looked visibly confused. The other Trojans stood there with their eyes cast down and tired expressions that made them look like they weren't even listening. In any case, the young nobleman bowed again, this time even deeper in his apology.

"Forgive my presumption, your majesty. I never, I..."

"It is fine", she motioned impatiently to make him move on. "Just bring us to King Priamos."

"As you wish", the boy bowed again, this time a lot shorter. "He is awaiting you and your escort in the citadel."

He now motioned her to follow him. The Trojan spearmen formed an escort around the amazons, Aeneas taking the lead and Penthesilea falling in right at his side. Together they followed the main street towards the citadel, or rather climbed it. Troy was build on a steep hill and how much higher they went with each step was visible from the height of the houses. Each one towered above the one in front of it. Since the houses flanking the street had flat roofs instead of clay tiles, they could very well be used as makeshift towers to attack enemies trying to reach the central fortress. In fact, many of the houses seemed to be used like that right in this moment. Penthesilea saw several helmeted heads looking down on them as they passed them. Those without helmets however belonged to grey-beards long past their prime, who stared at the amazons with suspicious frowns and hanging faces. In addition to the entirely empty streets, this made for an odd, even depressing first impression of the town.

 _Nearly ten years of war. I couldn't blame them for being mistrustful. For them, I was just another allied warlord full of empty promises. Only difference were my better looks and my fewer numbers._

Sighing, Penthesilea evaded her eyes from the morose onlookers and turned to Aeneas instead.

"How is the war going?", she asked.

"As bad as you should expect. The Greeks have returned to their camp a few months ago and have come to stay this time."

"So I was told as well, but we didn't run into any Greeks and from afar we couldn't see any kind of camp."

Aeneas nodded unsurprised.

"Their galleys have landed on a small peninsula to the north-west. The perfect place to intercept all ships from the seaside, but thankfully they have only limited control over the Scamander river south of its plains. If you don't believe me, you can see their camp fairly well from the citadel."

"Thanks, I trust your judgment here."

Penthesilea noticed a couple of suspicious looks from civilians who peeked out of their houses as they passed them.

 _As an Amazon I am used to drawing attention to myself in a country dominated by men, but this was different. Usually the Trojans showed no hostility to my people, surely because they are used to have us as trade partners, but this time something was changed. Was it that they simply didn't know what to make of me? Have I disappointed them so much by not having gathered an army to support their city? Or was it just weariness from the ongoing siege?_

"Don't blame them", Aeneas said softly, obviously having noticed Penthesilea's thoughtful expression. "These are tough times for them."

"I can imagine...", she replied just as softly.

Aeneas grimaced, his cheeks turning bright red.

"My apologies, I should not have... I... I can only give you my most sincere condolences."

"You should be glad. If not for her death, I would have never come to fight your battle", she replied darkly, shutting him up.

Penthesilea swallowed whatever further words she had on her tongue and marched onwards silently. They passed a near deserted agora with most of its stands being closed, surely because of the food rationing. After a turn to the left, the citadel appeared in front of them. The walls of the city already seemed impenetrable, but the citadel with the royal palace was on an entirely different level. Two layers of walls and watchtowers occupying the highest hill of Troy were overshadowing everything in their wake. They passed the first set of gates, now marching through a winded road in a small city within the city. Only after the second gate guarded by numerous soldiers the Amazons and their escort were brought into the yard of a huge complex of palaces and temples most of which seemed to be open to the public. In vast contrast to the near deserted lower city this place was bustling with business. More guards flanked the side of the central palace along with servants and onlookers as they were warmly welcoming the strangers who had just arrived in a formal ceremony. There were even a few joyous shouts of "Amazons! The Amazons!" breaking the silence.

Right on top of the stairs leading to the main palace they were greeted by a bearded old man in purple robes accompanied by his wife and his vast his retinue. He opened his arms in a grand gesture as his wife brought forth:

"I welcome you in my kingdom, Queen Penthesilea of the Amazons. We have eagerly awaited your arrival in these dire times. For both our people, I am afraid. As a foolish old man I am not capable to wipe away the tears of a grieving sister, but please accept this meaningless token as a gift of Troy's hospitality and join us at our table."

His wife stepped forward, presenting a fabulous sword with a richly decorated golden hilt and sheath. For a second, the immense splendor of the weapon took Penthesilea aback before she reminded herself of the customs, motioning Evandre to step forward. In her hands she held a brand new shield in the unique design that was only used by the Amazons. In contrast to their regular equipment it was free of any travel stains, indicating that it was made just for the occasion. Penthesilea now removed her own helmet and allowed her pitch black hair to fall when speaking to the old king.

"I greet you too, most gracious Priam, wise ruler of Illium and stalwart defender of the coasts. I gladly accept your hospitality and wish you to receive this gift of my people in return. In addition to the shield, I also offer you my spears and my axe to smite the enemy that has crossed the sea to harm your people."

The old man smiled gently back at her, having a spark in his eyes that Penthesilea hadn't seen before. From one moment to the next the old man seemed taller, younger and far more spirited than only seconds before. The gifts were exchanged accompanied by the cheers of the crowd. They all hailed the Amazons as their saviors and more than few shouted Priam's name and praised renewed vigour. Brought inside, the travelers were soon ambushed by a flock of maids who brought them to their rooms, bathed them and dressed them in rich local garments.

The 'table' Priam offered turned out to be a rich feast arranged to honor their high-born guests. While the Amazons themselves were the guests of honor, it seemed that half the palace were crammed into the great hall of the central building. The smell of wine and roasted meat filled the air as they entered and music from strings and singers lightened up the mood. A strange contrast to the gloomy city they had crossed barely an hour before. The old king himself seemed awestruck when Penthesilea joined him at the head of the largest table where he and his family sat. Together they sacrificed wine to Zeus Xenios before the king held a vigorous speech praising the reputation of their Amazon allies, their rich history and the valor of those who had come to their aid.

"I have seen Amazons in battle before, you know", Priam mused afterwards when their were back at the high table.

"That must have been before my time or my sister's", Penthesilea replied with a frown.

"Indeed. It was during your mother's reigns as she was raiding one of my allies in Phrygia. At that time things were not quite as peaceful. I was young, the Hittite Empire was powerful and threatening my domain. I could not allow Mygdon to fall, so I came to his aid."

Everyone listened carefully to the old man's story. Many of those at the table of high honor belonged to his own family, but next to one of the princes sat a woman in her early thirties whose pure skin and striking features looked like chiseled from porcelain. If not her otherworldly aura, her sorrowful attitude as she was gazing listlessly at her untouched food gave her identity away. More prize than woman, a prisoner at this table. Not giving her any further attention, Penthesilea turned back to her host.

"And you are still alive, I give you that", she raised her cup with a dark smile.

"Barely. It was just a small raiding party and yet they fought light goddesses, carving a bloody path straight to the line of the royal chariots. Mygdon was challenged to single combat by... by... a woman named... ugh...", he sighed, the name finally eluding him. "I... I'm sorry. I was just thinking of her the other day, but by now age seems eager to play tricks on this old man's memory."

Penthesilea nodded, drinking silently. The story of the kind old man continued. How Mygdon fell while Priam held the remaining Amazons back. How the Phrygians wavered and were driven into the current of river Sangarius, but a certain Ortreus managed to revitalize their spirits and reconnected his lines with the one of Priam.

"You see, I have seen with my own eyes how fierce only a few Amazons can be in battle, how helpless a mere mortal feels when confronted with the daughters of Ares. Seeing you and your heroic sisters arrive with all your pride and confidence... it gave me back something that I have thought lost. Hope."

The Amazon Queen shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

 _I came here to die, not to become a foolish symbol. And yet..._

She looked around. The atmosphere she sensed in the lower city earlier seemed completely forgotten. At the other tables bawdy jokes were exchanged, everybody was drinking and dancing to the sound of Trojan strings and flutes. Even some of the Amazons joined in, obviously enjoying the attention of their local admirers.

 _What have I done..._

"Well, then...", Priam now seemed equally nervous. "Now that we have exchanged gifts and made the sacrifices, I think it is safe for me to ask you for a request, fair queen of the Amazons."

"I already offered you my weapons and those of my sisters. What else could you mean?", Penthesilea asked with a frown.

"Call it the sentimental streak of this foolish old man. When time for more bloodshed is upon us, I want you... I... beg you... to accept my eldest son's chariot for you to ride into battle."

The Amazon's eyes widened. Everyone at the table was aware of what he just proposed as a soft murmur swept through it. The Prince Paris looked especially miserable upon hearing his father's request.

"I can't accept this, I just...", for once she felt like a little girl, helplessly at a loss of words.

"Nothing would make me happier than seeing it bestowed upon the one who made me look towards the future with confidence once again", Priam smiled at her. A warm smile that only a kind grandfather could have.

"But, your heir, should he not...", her voice cracked as realization hit her.

 _The empty streets, the resigned faces, the stories of a recent battle. All made sense to me now, everything came together in one cruel painting: This city was still grieving all of its slaughtered sons and now even its greatest hero. The king's own flesh and blood... This kindly old man who now sat before me with watery eyes._

Penthesilea looked around once again. All those who had listened in to their conversation. They were all silent of a sudden, averting their gaze. Outside of this circle, the jolly atmosphere continued as a contrasting background noise.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't..."

"You don't have to. This feast is to honor you and your sisters, who have traveled so far to stay with us in this blackest of nights."

 _If I had come earlier, if my sister wouldn't have preferred to remain neutral..._

The Amazon Queen grimaced, struggling for words as the anger within her heart flared up.

"I know it is a presumptuous thing to ask of a grieving father, but...", she couldn't finish the sentence, the sudden heat surging through her body was suffocating her.

"... how did he die?", Priam gave a dry laugh. "As befitting to a highborn champion, I guess. Hector was the best of us. In his heart as well as in his deeds. I would like to point out that he fell valiantly, but his death at the hands of the Pelid was still too... too..."

Penthesilea ground her teeth. She had no intention to tear open this man's wounds. Therefore she turned towards the rest of his children, addressing no one in particular."

"The Pelid?", she asked.

The Trojans exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. For that matter, it seemed like they never before found themselves in the situation to explain this man to someone. At last Prince Paris was the one who broke the silence.

"Father is speaking of Achilleus of Phthia. He is one of the heroes Menelaus has dragged into this war. The best, to be sure. His Myrmidons are unparalleled in battle, a striking sight with their pitch black armor. He himself... well, it said that his mother is a divine nymph, making him essentially a half-god."

The Amazon sneered.

"Please. Everyone born out of wedlock in their culture claims divine heritage to counter the perceived shame."

A murmur broke out. And soon enough Penthesilea was delivered a multitude of stories explaining the fear that this single man struck into the cities' defenders.

 _I never doubted Achill's skill with the spear, the feat of having killed Hector, who was said to be quite proficient for a man, spoke for itself. But the stories of his impenetrable skin? It was more likely that they just never touched him or rather that those who did didn't live long enough to call them out of their foolish superstitions. In the end, this Achilleus was just another king's bastard out to make himself a name. A mortal who could be killed just like any other man._

The Amazon Queen rose from her seat, interrupting the latest dour tale of one of the middle brothers. Penthesilea was fuming with anger, only seeing the sorrowful old man who had listened to this all with empty eyes staring at his hands folded on the table.

"I have heard enough. And so has your most generous king."

Only then the Amazon realized that her standing up was seen by everyone in the hall and being the guest of honor, they reacted with appropriate silence. Conversations were interrupted, music stopped, looks fixated on her. Slowly, more and more people wondered about what was going on, interrupting whatever they were doing and joined the mass of curious eyes. Even when she hadn't decided to make a lasting declaration, now she just had to.

"I came here to seek... redemption", Penthesilea announced, even though she meant death. "I came here with only my small band of heroes, denying you the army that you pleaded me to bring, toying with your hopes due to my own arrogance. And yet... and yet..."

She saw how lavish the feast was, she saw the expensive presents he had been heaping up on her and the other guests and she saw how this went beyond the usual expectation of valuing the guest right, especially under the circumstances Priam found himself under.

"... and yet your king never rightfully judged me, but instead even put aside his own pains to welcome us under his roof. No... not just him. Queen Hecuba as well. And their daughters and sons. Everyone at this table. Everyone in this hall. Everyone under this roof. Everyone within these walls that have protected you so long. Hear me, father Zeus Xenius himself could not be a better host than the Trojan people. So please, forgive my selfish reason to come here and allow me to repay your kindness with deeds."

A sudden dread overcame her audience. Nobody raised a voice, but the tension was suffocating as they awaited her vow.

"Too many of your sons have already fallen. But not anymore. In the light of all the Gods, I Queen Penthesilea of the Amazons hereby declare, that I will lead you to victory. That I will drive the Achaeans off your shores, that I will burn their ships and that I will avenge your fallen sons with the defeat of their most dreaded hero, the son of Peleus who killed your brave Hector!"

If she had expected a cheer in reply to this bold vow, she was thoroughly disappointed. The silence persisted and turned even more gloomy with every second that she was standing. Penthesilea tried to rile them up, tried to provoke a reaction and yet everyone suddenly averted their eyes when she tried to look into them. At last Priam decided to release her from the awkwardness by rising up from his seat as well:

"It is not my place to question youthful vigour, especially from such a striking warrior as you are. The Trojan people appreciate your vow and sincerely hope to aid you in your success. But now is time not to talk of death and killing, but of the moment and the living."

"True words", Penthesilea picked up her cup, rose it to a salute and rejoined the king at the table.

The feast continued. Somewhat more subdued and the Trojans at the table now seemed too troubled to make further merry, but it still lasted till late into the night. When the first guests started to sleep on their cushions, Priam officially ended the welcoming ceremony and asked one of his daughters to escort the Amazon Queen back to her chambers. The girl was nearly a woman grown with a curly mob of brown hair on her head. During the entire feast she had stared daggers at Penthesilea, causing her to think that something must have caused her to distrust the Amazon. Apparently to confirm this it remained a silent walk through silent corridors, but Penthesilea had to be blind to not see the girl's grim expression, which looked like she was very unhappy about being given this task. Finally when they had arrived in front of her doorstep and the Amazon was about to thank her escort, she finally raised her voice, quiet and yet sharp.

"You shouldn't have made that vow."

"Why not?", Penthesilea crossed her arms, casually leaning against the door as she observed the girl. "Is not exactly this why you put so high hopes in me?"

"Maybe. For some", her brown eyes were staring directly into the Amazons, flinching not even once. "But not for my father. Or for me. Or for that matter, anyone who caught as much as a glimpse of the Pelid in battle. He means certain doom. And now you have vowed to seek him out in battle."

Penthesilea gave a sigh.

"According to your brothers, this Achilleus is a fickle creature whose Myrmidons rarely show themselves on the battlefield. Chances are that he won't even be out there to answer my summons."

"No", the girl insisted. "When you lead the Trojans into battle, Achilleus will show himself."

Her certainty bemused the Amazon, who replied with a mocking smile:

"What are you, a seeer?"

The young princess tilted her head, her serious expression never faltering. Penthesilea nodded and sighed.

"Ah... so you are here to warn me of my fate?"

"It would be pointless. You wouldn't believe me. No one ever does. This is my curse."

"Men's stubbornness makes them dismiss you", Penthesilea sneered. "Never tell yourself otherwise."

This only got her a dry laugh.

"So you would change your course if I told you?"

She grimaced.

"I would believe you. But as you already said, my vow now forces me onto this path."

"Your honor forces you onto this path... Now you sound just like any other man."

"Spare me your insults, princess", Penthesilea gave another sigh. "... and let us better leave the conversation as it is. Fate has toyed with me enough, I'd rather fight my own fight, the God's be damned."

"Then let that be your fate", the girl bowed. "Farewell, Queen Penthesilea. I hope you'll find what you seek."

The Amazon watched her leaving, being as confused as ever.

 _I wondered in what I got myself into. I came to pay for my sin with my blood, but wavered when confronted with the hope I inadvertedly inspired. And now that I decided to change the fate of this city, this girl was set on seeding doubts on that idea. Death or salvation... this duality seemed easier to grasp only a day ago..._

 **Einzbern, 2006**

In direct comparison to the feast the old Priam had been throwing, breakfast at Nina's apartment was a lot more humble. Which, for some reason, didn't affected Lea's mood in the slightest. Though the mood itself was similarly strange. Nina was still reeling from experiencing one of her new roomie's last days and was aware that she shouldn't project her own conflicted feelings onto Lea, who seemed to have either not shared the dream of was trying her hardest to ignore it.

"So what are we going to to do about our Kemetite friend?", Lea asked while nibbling on a slice of toast.

"Who?", she asked, slightly startled about the sudden change of topic.

"Ah, sorry. You called him a pharaoh, didn't you? In my time the country ruled by his kind was called Kemet after the black soil left after its river floodings."

 _Egyptian guy..._

"Well... I don't know where to start looking for him or his riding opponent", Nina admitted. "If they are both still alive that is. Archer got rid of that Saber guy surprisingly fast."

Lea nodded.

"But I do know where to start with this", she picked up the curious spellbook Sarah gave her and shoved it towards Lancer. "There is a woman out there tricking kids into this deathmatch. She failed with Sarah, but maybe she had success with these highschoolers we were forced to fight. And I can't stand it. It has to stop immediately."

"So while the kids are busy beating each other up...", Lea began with a sly grin.

"... we aim for the one behind this. And I'm afraid we need all the preparation we need."

The Amazon frowned at that.

"I am always prepared for battle", she playfully made herself sound hurt by the implication.

"Sure, I never doubted that. But I'm just a squishy little mortal. I can't compete with you guys."

"And you dont't have to. That's my job, after all", she protested

Nina's fingers were still drumming on the spellbook.

"Sure. But I think there is still something I can do to be more of help. I've found some of the tips for Masters really interesting, even though I still need a little support. For that I have invited Sarah to the clubhouse again. And after we have finished that...", she gave Lea a knowing smile. "... we are going to do a little digging in regards to our mysterious woman."

After finishing breakfast, the two immediately set out for the clubhouse. Though now looking at it with sunlight, Nina got doubts whether it was so clever to make this their meeting place again. The occult scribbles might have been successfully removed, but there were still some signs of yesterday's party. The grill had been removed, but the bins were overflowing and everywhere here or there the odd beer bottle still hadn't found its way back into its crate.

"I really don't see any reasy why we have to clean up after them...", Lea groaned as she dismounted from her bike, setting aside her helmet.

"... to look somewhat civilized for a change?", Nina proposed with a sigh.

"Fair point", she admitted after a little consideration.

They were still shuffling around when Sarah arrived on her bicycle, coming earlier than expected earlier than expected as well. Nina was still tracking all the bottles when she heard her call out from the entrance:

"Hello there, Miss Linke?"

"Right here", Nina called back. "With your school wrecked you seem to have gained a lot of free time. One could get quite jealous to be honest, seeing you carefree as this."

"Well, it's not like such a catastrophy happens every day", the girl admitted, leaving her bike behind and shoulding a school bag that looked nigh bursting. "Though I doubt you are one to talk, hanging out here once again this early in the morning."

"Ha... I'm currently jobbing on weekends, so that's why you might get the impression", she laughed half-heartedly, knowing that this might lead to some trouble concerning the Grail War.

Nina gave up upon her feeble attempts at salvaging the club's outside experience, instead ushering Sarah in. As it happened, that was just the excuse Lea needed to do likewise, joining in as Nina was flipping over three empty crates as a makeshift seating arrangement.

"Well, you've certainly made progress since yesterday", Sarah observed. "It looks... spacious..."

Nina gave a wan smile.

"We are doing our best."

"I hope that goes for the Grail War as well", Sarah smirked. "You remember, I'm counting on you!"

"We both remember", Lancer chimed in. "Have no fear. The number of our enemies seems to shrink with every day."

"But you can help us making things even easier", Nina pulled the spellbook out her pocket and gave it to Sarah.

The girl looked a little confused, not knowing whether to accept it.

"You are already finished with it?"

"Pretty much. I take my homework seriously!", she chuckled. "But to apply some of this into practice, I believe I still need your help."

"So that's why you asked me to bring my ingredients?", Sarah asked, pointing at her bag.

Nina nodded. She had thought very hard about it, half the night she was awake weighing the risk. But in the end she decided that there was nothing much to loose, given how they were fighting against an enemy who was a trained mage apparently.

"I have to warn you, it is more dangerous than I thought possible", Sarah said carefully. "I was the only one in our group who actually made some spells work and it felt kinda draining. This was the reason we had decided that I should try to contract with Lancer, you know. Given that managed to summon her, it should be assumed that you have magic circuits that allow you to cast magic. Which in turn means that your worst case isn't the worst case that my friends found themselves in: That the spells just harmlessly don't happen and they end up looking stupid. In your case as much as in mine... the worst case is that you accidentally drain your life force instead of your prana."

Both Nina and Lancer listened carefully. She was aware of this risk, there were some vague warnings in the spellbook, but Sarah's serious tone freaked her slightly out. For a middle-schooler who had been fooling around with childish fantasies of magic, she sounded far too concerned.

"So as I understand, if I bit more than I can chew, I risk to shave off a few of my years by accident?"

"Worse than that. You might shave them all off..."

Nina gulped and Lancer looked quite unhappy at the prospect. Something Sarah didn't miss.

"If that happens, can I fill in?", the girl asked her, feigning innocence.

"Before you oh so eagerly organize my funeral, I have to inform you that I intend to learn it because I want to win. According to this book, an untrained Magus is not able to generate as much energy as a trained one, therefore I am unable to be much more than an anchor to the world of the living for Lancer. Right now I cannot control how much energy I give her to replenish her reserves, forcing her to essentially choke out her connection with me in order to... well, not choke me instead."

"Valid points, but I can't see how much you can change about that within the small timeframe we have. In addition to this... You have read the passage about magic circuits and their maximum capacity?"

"Of course", Nina shrugged. "And I don't have any illusions about my abilities, especially given that I've apparently spent 27 years of my life with some dormant supernatural muscles in my body. I'm not going to rival Merlin, I just want an edge that allows me to act somewhat independantly of Lancer."

Sarah drove with both hands through her hair, uncomfortable of the implications.

"Well, if this is what you want, who am I to stand in your way? And since I've brought my stuff anyways..."

She opened her bag and several see-through plastic bags containing herbs spilled out. She put them aside, rummaging around deeper, where several weird looking instruments and a couple of glass stones were visible to Nina, who watched her with some amount of curiosity. In the end, she settled on some dried weeds and what looked like simple piece of painted wire.

"Before we start, we have to make sure that your magic circuits are active. If Lancer says that she has shut off her connection, they may have very well returned to a dormant state", she shoved the dried weeds under Nina's nose. "Eat this!"

"You plucked those out of your garden, did you?", Nina frowned, not believing it.

"If it were so easy... I had to find them out in the woods near the old castle ruin. You won't believe what you can find out there. Take them, please, they help giving you focus and I've embedded some of my own prana into them in order to help kick start your circuits."

Nina gave a dry laugh. This was an odd request, but reluctantly she took them, plucked them out of their plastic coating sniffed at them.

"You washed them, did you?"

"Of course I did. Come on, it's safe, we all ate them."

"Sure...", closing her eyes, she shoved them into her mouth, grimacing at their strange taste.

She expected them to be bitter. And they were, at first. But the more she chewed, some milky juice escaped that completely drowned out any taste at all, making her mouth feel numb and in the end even sting with every bite. When she finally swallowed it down, she felt aching and dizzy.

"What even...", she began, but every word hurt like hell.

"Psssh... just concentrate!", Sarah ordered, a little too nonchalant for her liking. "Now grab this stick with your fingertips."

Nina opened her hand and Sarah carefully placed the wire into it. She then proceeded to wrap her own hands around Nina's, starting to whisper a little chant:

"Zeige mir, oh zeige mir das versteckte Herz! Zeige mir das versteckte Potenzial!"

Nothing happened.

"Cheesy", Nina pressed through her sore throat.

"Just concentrate", Sarah hissed. "Contentrate! Focus! Close your eyes and imagine your body! Your nerves! How they run through your body. How signals are sent between them. Where they go through... where they transcend into something else!"

Nina closed her eyes and tried her best to heed her advice. At first she thought the entire idea idiotic, she knew her body, she should know if there were any neurons hidden if it were so easy to find them. But the dizziness from the weeds remained. And for some odd reason, it made her mind clearer after she had closed her eyes. She felt her own heartbeat, she felt the blood pulsing through her veins. When she finally contentrated on her nerves, she found herself imagining a vast network endlessly complicated and yet endlessly perfect. She followed these strings as if they were a highway, she followed them as if she was driving her bike at an impossibly high speed on an impossibly long road until she found herself surrounded by these electric roads, with those being far more close than it should be necessary.

"I see it...", she whispered.

"Now you need some mental image to control them, to make them glow."

Nina smiled. She knew exactly what she needed. She prepared herself, bending her body as she raced down the roads of her own consciousness. And when she finally imagined herself changing up the gears, a scathingly hot feeling washed over her entire body, sending a shiver into every single inch of it. Startled, she opened her eyes, looking around, where Sarah and Lea were looking at her quite concerned. Nina had to take a few breaths before being able to resume her smile.

"This is your revenge for me taking Lancer, isn't it?"

"Don't be ridiculous", the girl sneered, snatching away the wire Nina had been holding the whole time.

She traced it with her thumb and a serious expression on her face. Nina had been aware that it was painted, but now she saw that its checkered lines actually contained tiny numbers. It seemed a little like a metal indicator test like the ones she remembered from chemistry class. The only difference was that this one magically bent after usage, just like it did after Nina's stunt.

"Nine notches...", Sarah mumbled.

"Is that good?"

"No, but it has to suffice. It's two more than I have, anyway. I guess this is the reason why Lancer felt more attracted to you."

"Please...", Nina complained.

"Just kidding. Well, it seems like you have found your style. Whenever you want to impress someone by pulling a bunny out of a hat, you just got to remember what you did just now. For what it's worth, each time you do it, it becomes easier."

Nina sighed. This was torture. And yet she felt a sense of accomplishment she really liked. She also didn't feel drowsy from those trippy herbs anymore. A little hot, sweating even, but she was really fine otherwise. It felt like she was in control over her body in way she never imagined possible. She felt like a force of nature, beding the laws of phyics with only her will.

"So far so good", Nina grinned. "Now what should I try to cast first?"

"Nothing too fancy I'm afraid", Sarah shot a dark look at the spellbook lying on the ground. "It keeps harping on the importance of Bounded Fields to keep unwanted onlookers away from the Grail War, but such a thing is way out of our league. We should try some easy alchemy, tampering with the traits of already existing minerals like I did with the herbs I gave you."

"That sounds... not really spectacular", Nina admitted ruefully.

"And not very helpful for our cause", Lea surmised.

"How about an offensive spell?"

Sarah grimaced.

"You mean like the one I used on your boyfriend?"

"My ex...", Nina objected dryly. "But yes, that one seemed kinda useful, if only to irritate an enemy."

"It might be a hard one to start out with... I myself have a little trouble casting it correctly..."

It needed only a little more nudging until she agreed. Nina felt like she could take on the whole world, so it there was not much that could be said to dissuade her. With the spellbook in hand, they stepped back outside into the messy yard of the club house, a place that seemed predestined for what they were about to do. Picking up three of the abandoned beer bottles, they soon found a crack in the walls surrounding the place that made for an excellent makeshift shooting range.

"Gandr-shot, huh?", Lea frowned as she looked over Nina's shoulder, reading the few paragraphs of this curse.

"It's pretty much the only offensive spell in there", Nina explained. "To be frank, the spells in there are all over the place. Aside from the very detailed explanation about the Grail War and the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual, there are mostly defensive spells and rituals to defend against other Masters in there. Hell, one of the main reasons why I'm doing this is because all the different ways a trained mage can mess with your mind is freaking me out."

Sarah rubbed her hands impatiently next to her.

"Well then, let us start. Before you can use it, you need to embed it in you magic circuits. Your memory will be your true spellbook, like it seems."

She positioned herself a few meters in front of the third beer bottle, took a deep breath and stretched out her arms in a way that she used both her hands to take aim.

"Gandr", she whispered and her words were immediately followed by a hollow 'clunk' sound.

The beer bottle was nudged a few millimeters away from her, but was otherwise stubbornly unscathed. Sarah exhaled deeply.

"I told you to lower your expectations. It's more of an airsoft gun, really."

"Still quite impressive", Nina admitted, still slightly surprised about her own capability to just accept magic for what it is.

Nina turned her attention back to the spellbook in her hands. Below the description of the spell and next to a tiny doodle of a woman casting it like Sarah did was a small example of the mental image the caster could form in his or her head. Under ordinary circumstances she would have sneered at the contradictory text, but right now it made an absurd amount of sense to her.

"Let's see..."

She closed her eyes and focused on her inner lanes. She raced along them and changed gears hard, just as she had done shortly before. Like Sarah said, it went even easier this time, as she felt her blood boiling and her pulse rising. She pulled on the lanes, clinging onto them as if she would to her steering. She focued on a single thought of destruction, a single bullet that could pierce everything. Her hands moved unconsciously, pointing towards her. When Nina finally opened her eyes, the bottle was right there were her hands pointed at. With sure smile, she engraved this idea in her magic circuits.

"Gandr!"

A sharp cracking sound echoed through the yard, followed immediately by loud shattering.

"Whoa!", Sarah called out. "That was amazing!"

The bottle was no more. But not because she had knocked it out of its recess, but because it exploded right then and there. Numerous shards were strewn across the dirt and the only part still remaining where it was, was the splintered bottom. Nina gave out a victorious cry.

"Airsoft my ass, that thing could kill!"

"I'm just as surprised as you are", the girl admitted. "I have never seen it that destructive. Or working on the first try for that matter... Is that a hole behind the bottle?"

There was indeed something behind the place where the bottle used to be. Nina wouldn't call it a hole though. It was just dent of chipped off stone. She wanted to see how deep it was herself, but when she made a step forward, it felt somewhat wobbly. Nina stopped in her tracks, hesitating. Her head was dizzy and her mind started to trail off.

"Ugh, I think I overdid it a little, I..."

Before she was able to catch herself, her legs gave way. She heard Lea cry "Master!" and the next moment she found herself in the arms of the Amazon, apparently caught right before having a rather uncomfortable meeting with the ground.

"Sorry, I'm sorry", she mumbled. "I just feel, oddly exhausted, I... need to rest for a bit, that's all."

Lea answered something, but Nina was at this point already spacing out. It felt like her blood was rushing into her head. All of it. And it drowned out every thought she might have had on the situation, leaving only darkness as even her vision blurred and disappeared.

When she awoke again, she was lying on the floor of the club house, staring at the ceiling. Her head was still throbbing and her whole body aching, for a moment she was panicking that she might have caused serious damage to herself. Only when she janked herself up, she realized that there was still everything where it belonged and all her muscles still reacted when she called upon them.

"Ugh..."

"Everything alright, Master?", Lea kneeling besides her, wearing her most worried expression.

"I screwed up", Nina complained angrily. "I knew it was dangerous and yet I got cocky..."

"You just wanted to help...", Lea tried to cheer her up. "There is nothing wrong with that.

Nina held her head, trying to cool it down somewhat. Only then she realized that Lea must have carried her over here. And that Sarah had given her her bag as a makeshift pillow.

"How long was I knocked out?"

"Not for long. A few minutes at most."

"At least something... damn it, it felt like I've sucked my life out of me."

"It's because that's exactly what you did...", Sarah observed. "But don't worry too much. You should have a lot more magical energy than the amount you've used up. It's just that your body couldn't handle stress you've put your dormant magic circuits through, that is all. With a little more experience, you should get better at it. Within your limits of course."

Nina pushed herself up, but her body was still aching. She leaned against the wall in order to get some support and though she felt her energy slowly returning to her limbs, walking stood out of the question for the moment.

"Thanks for everything. I don't know whether I would have been able to get as far without you", she told to Sarah, who seemed slightly embarrassed.

"No worries. You are a natural, so it seems you didn't need that much help after all. But I'm glad if I was able to be of some help."

"Then I'm afraid there is still one thing I need to ask you before I can release you back to your unexpected free time...", Nina said with a forced smirk. "The silver woman. Please tell us where this playground is where you met her. I need to find her... before she finds anyone else..."

The girl nodded in understanding. She had talked freely about their meeting before, so there was nothing to hide. Therefore she told Nina of a district at the edge of town where there was half overgrown playground at the outskirts of the forest. Apparently it was part of a biking route that nobody actually ever used, but this made it perfect for Sarah's group to do those rituals that didn't need four walls surrounding them to work. Nina remembered the district from her tours with the boys, but they rarely ventured that much out there given the suburban feeling with plenty of old folks shooting them dark looks when they allowed their bikes to howl around.

"Thanks... I will look into it and hope that we will have more luck finding her", Nina said. "I cannot thank you enough."

"Well then...", Sarah began, twitching nervously. "It was kinda fun being the teacher for once. Good luck. And don't run into trouble!"

They said their farewells and then both Nina and Lancer watched the girl grabbing her bag and taking her leave.

"She has grown more comfortable around us", Nina observed.

"It seems so", Lea admitted, seating herself next to her.

Nina sighed. She wanted to call the boys and head out before they did, but she knew that still needed a few moments to recover.

"Sorry again that you have to wait for me. I know very well how important it is to get that woman as soon as possible. For the sake of the local innocents... and your sister's sake as well."

Lea gave an acknowledging grunt, though she looked at the ground rather thoughtfully, something that didn't escape Nina.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing important, Master", Lea now looked up at the ceiling. "I'm just being stupid."

"Oh, I have time for a chuckle. Please entertain me."

"It's just... I was just thinking about what happens after we succeeded. Whether... my Heroic Spirit me then still exists."

"You mean... with her saved, there is no reason for you to go to Troy? You will erase a couple of verses from the Iliad and be forgotten?"

She chuckled darkly.

"It is regrettable that my death seems to have become the only point of interest in my life. Then again, it is just typical for singers to focus on bloody tragedies only... But yes, you are right. Hippolyta never had any intention to come to Troy's aid, to forfeit our neutrality", Lea folded her hands in her lap rather nervously. "Not that I was of that much help. If I wanted to make a bigger difference, I would have to convince her to sent me at the head of an army. I am not sure I will be able to do that."

Nina knew that she nudged around the issue that was buried at the core of it. That she wanted to help save both her sister and Priam. But doing one thing ensured failing the other. It was a tricky situation Nina saw her herself unable to help her with.

 _I have to change the topic fast..._

"So... what about Achilles?"

 _Damn it!_

"What about him?", Lea seemed just as confused as she was.

Nina had to dial back, reminding her of the guy who killed her seemed just as tasteless...

"I just... argh, I was just curious... was he some kind of Brad Pitt type?"

"Is that... a warrior of your time or something?", she asked back with a suspicious frown.

Nina weighed her options, making a grimace.

"Something along the lines... I have caught a glimpse into your life, but not that one as of yet. So I was thinking you could tell me how your battle went. The real version, not that single spear throw written in the story. Maybe we can think of something with that."

"I don't know. His skill was uncanny, to say the least. And I say that being quite confident in my own abilities myself. I don't think I could have made anything better aside from wasting my spear against his armor. That cost me my reach", she then suddenly started to poke Nina sharply into her arm. "And if you wanted to know how he looked like, I have to tell you that he wore his helmet of course..."

"Ahaha, I get it..."

They talked a bit more. About less serious stuff, some aspects of bronze age life compared to hers today, but it ended up nothing but small-talk.

 _Fooling around like this is kinda cool. I'd be saddened to miss it... I just hope that no matter what happens after her wish being granted, this wouldn't be erased..._

Soon afterwards Nina regained enough strength to stand up and make phone-calls to organize the afternoon. But before she set out to make the first scouting probe, she invited Lea into a nearby café to sooth her sudden craving for carbohydrates. After that, the mission could start. The duo drove to aforementioned edge of town and soon enough they've found the playground Sarah mentioned. It was in quite a sorry state with its sand box looking like a little herb garden, the swings and the rocking horses being either dismantled or rusted through and only the wooden see-saw looked somewhat usable. And yet Nina was glad that the kids hadn't covered it in scary scribbles like they did with the club house. It looked already creepy enough, especially given that the thick trees surrounding it blocked out the sun.

"No wonder there aren't any kids playing in this place", she whispered to herself. "Okay, let's get a grip on the neighborhood first. Without the bikes of course. Asking questions in a leather outfit is difficult enough already."

Leaving their bikes at the playground, they marched back into the suburbs. At this time not many people were present, but they found some people carrying grocery bags, tending to their gardens or school kids fooling around. Splitting up was the logical choice, but they still stayed in visual range to each other while they went around asking for a white haired woman. Half an hour later they met up on a park bench at the corner of a crossroad.

"Have you gotten anything?", Nina asked.

"Just one old woman mentioned Sarah and her friends asking the same questions."

"Ugh... it seems we have to widen our search radius."

They went back to the playground and waited for the first True Amazons to arrive. On their way Nina received a message by Martin saying that he would be late due to work, so that they should start out without him. But twelve other boys and some of the girls were already there, though, eagerly awaiting direction.

"You see, we must find out everything we can about this woman who seems to be dragging kids into the fight", Nina explained to them. "But I don't want a disaster like the last time to happen. If you see her, call me and retreat. No heroics, no lone attempts to block her way! We don't know whether she is a Master or allied with one. Therefore only Lancer can approach her without the risk of getting chopped up."

They nodded in silence. Some of them were present at their two fights and remembered the carnage and even in the case of those who didn't, Nina expected word to spread fast. Districts of Einzbern were soon divided and the first pairs of bikers spread out. Nina and Lancer then headed out into a different direction, covering another part of the cities' outskirts. She hoped driving down the route of a nearby bus station could give them a lead on their target, but everyone they met just shrugged never having seen such a person. Or at least they shrugged towards Lea. The two of them were eyed rather suspiciously by most people, but while this suspicion remained with the people Nina asked for help, they seemed to lower their guards immediately when the true True Amazon called out to them.

"I have a knack for getting along with people, it seems", Lea smirked when confronted with it.

"I can't believe you sometimes..."

Nina remembered that the boy Master of Archer felt intimidated by her leather attire as well. Not that this made him any less dangerous in retrospect, even though Lancer dominated their fight. It seemed that was her curse when finding herself among 'conservative' sorts of people. Not that the people of Einzbern were ever openly hostile to her when they continued their questioning. They just remained irritated, just because she dared looking different, not fitting in their world view. She half expected them to think that their club was involved in some shady businesses, even though got no proof for this suspicion. The thought itself was enough, though, to sadden her a little.

Three hours later, nothing was achieved. Nina felt exhausted and disheartened. They caught up with the others several times, exchanging their information, but it remained sketchy. Some people indeed mentioned such a woman, seeing her near twilight in the outskirts, but they never talked to her and she seemed to flee when you looked at her too closely. To top it all, some she was seen at most a month ago, most times last week, but always in another area. Combining their stories, Nina got the picture that staying close to the forest would be a good idea, but how to use this information remained a riddle. One of the Amazon women brought a map that they used to mark the sighting places, but they were all over the district they patrolled in. So it meant either split up and see whether she also visits outskirts on the other side of town, risking to miss her right here, or to remain here hoping to catch her with their amassed numbers, but risking that she visits another part of town while they were waiting stupidly here.

 _If she shows up at all, that is..._

"Just do what your intuition says", Lea replied to her concerns, leaving Nina to think up a solution for herself.

"Well... I'd say it could be problematic to leave this area. At least we know for sure that she used to pop up here sometimes. I'd say we get some refreshments and take up stationary posts near the forest for the evening. Everyone who wants to leave, should do it now. A couple of the other Amazons are going to join us anyway, so we don't need everyone if it's just this area."

With that it was decided. Nina said her thanks to those who went home and the remaining group then crashed a nearby kebab shop. Their sore asses thanked them a lot as they recovered from their draining patrol task.

 _I swear, when this is over I'll throw a party that they all end up being smashed. I owe everyone big time for the trouble they go through for me._

And yet the atmosphere was merry. It was their adventure after all, they were all thrown into it, as far they were concerned. At least this is what their conversations amounted to. And what must have lead the shop keeper to think that they were all loony. In the middle of their break, Nina's phone rang. A little surprised she looked who it was, since their planning was actually organized through text messages alone.

"Huh, Martin...", Nina wondered, picking it up. "Nina here, what's up?"

"Uh, boss, I've just arrived at the playground and... please come!"

That amused Nina. She was imagining his irritated look as he was arriving at the promised meeting place and everyone stood him up.

"Ah, sorry, we've went for a break near Johannisthaler Straße. Just join us here, you can't possibly miss us."

"No, you don't understand. _She_ is here!", he hissed as subdued as possible.

Nina was taken aback for a moment.

"Don't approach her! We are on our way!", looking up, she found Lancer already standing besides here. Her hearing was uncanny.

"Guess things have taken up speed", Nina then announced to the gang. "Sorry for your trouble, but it seems you can scratch this night shift"

She wasn't quite sure whether that reaction was relieve or disappointment. It seemed more like a mix of both. In any case, she and Lea ran out of the shop, only to find themselves standing in front of their bikes unsure how to proceed.

"It's about a kilometer to the playground... every second counts and you would be faster on your own", Nina observed.

"I would rather not risk leaving you behind", Lea replied, raising her eyebrows as she looked directly into Nina's face.

"You can't mean..."

"We have talked about it, if it is necessary..."

Nina sighed, helplessly flailing with her arms. It was just such a stupid way of transportation.

"Okay, fine, carry me... and pray nobody will see us."

"They won't...", answered a chuckling Lancer.

Begrudgingly, Nina evaded unwanted attention by jumping into an alley next to the kebab shop, which was obviously necessary since there were still a couple regulars inside, who stubbornly remained among the True Amazons. The moment she stepped out of sight of the sidewalk, her feet suddenly lost touch to the ground as Lea's arms lifted her from the ground and jumped high into the air. Nina was desparately suppressing her urge to scream as their surreal trip over the rooftops felt even more intense than a rollercoaster ride. When she was sat down on the road near the entrance to the biking route that leads to the playground, she was barely able to stand.

"Never again!", she shouted, using her newfound control over her body to wrestle with her jumping pulse.

"I can't promise that", a bemused Lancer replied, at least before she looked onwards with a serious expression.

Martin's bike was still parked squarely on the sidewalk, so he was seemingly still around. Dreading the worst, Nina made a dash for the forest path, only to find Martin kneeling somewhere in the shrubbery. They joined him silently.

"I told you to get away!", Nina whispered angrily.

"Sorry, but I had to make sure that she doesn't go somewhere else", he pointed towards the playground. "I couldn't know you guys are here _this_ fast."

"Trust me, I didn't either. But now get away!"

He nodded and retreated hastily back onto the road. They waited until he had disappeared for good before they took their turn, moving right across the bushes towards the playground. Even from afar, the woman they were looking for was clearly visible. A white figure, leaning against the see-saw, staring to the ground. In the darkness of the overgrown playground that not even the dawning twilight was able to reach, even her skin seemed to glow, making her look more like a marble figurine than an actual human.

 _If I hadn't been here before, I would have taken her for part of the decorations._

"Excuse us!", Nina called out before the two of them stepped into the playground.

The woman flinched, seemingly not expecting any visitors. She looked up and her eyes met Nina's. Red eyes, just like Lancer's, just as piercing. But while Lea was a person full of life and spirit, this woman only gave away coldness and fragility. She was looking at them with a frightful expression, moving around the see-saw as if she wanted to use it as a shield to protect herself with.

"Who are you?", Nina implored.

That seemed too much. She stepped backwards, ready to flee. In an attempt to get her attention, Nina pulled the spellbook out of her jacket, holding it up.

"This is yours, isn't it?"

The white woman's eyes widened.

 _She recognized it!_

"Where... where did you get it?", even her voice was thin and high.

"From the children you gave it to. I just wanted to know why you did that."

Before she could answer, her eyes focused on Lea and now she backed off again.

"No... don't come near me!"

"I just want to talk...", Nina explained.

 _... for now._

With each step she made forward, the white woman took two backwards.

"I tell you, let me leave! He will kill you if you don't!", she half screamed.

Lea's eyes narrowed:

"Who?"

"Please, don't... please...", she continued to whine.

A shot like a bullet echoed through the woods, accompanied by a flash of light that was emitted by Lea. From one moment to the next, Nina found herself facing the back of her Amazon companion, who had jumped between her and the white woman, fully armored and ready for battle. Looking past her shield, Nina saw the strange woman turning around, making a run for the forest.

"You stay here!", she wanted to go around Lancer, but her partner stepped once again right into her path, once again accompanied a sharp cracking sound.

Only then Nina realized that two arrows were deeply lodged in Lea's crescent shield. She stopped immediately, looking around in a daze.

 _An attack?_

Another cracking sound, this time from besides her. Lancer moved in just in time, shielding her. Then another crack. From the other side. Soon enough, the Amazon was forced to dance around Nina, shielding from several directions at once.

 _Several attackers?_

She was awestruck. She couldn't move. Every step would have made Lea's job of protecting her even more difficult as it already was. But Lancer kept at it. She was totally in synch with the attack, pacing around her Master with ridiculous speed, her shield in front and her spear held high above her shoulder.

 _Wait, those cracks in the woods... this is movement. It's just one attacker!_

One of Lancer's twin spears landed on the ground in front of Nina, she must have split it up once again. This could only mean one thing.

 _Is she homing in on him? Just using the sound?_

And indeed. In between two shots, Lea darted forward and let go of her spear, shouting:

" **Discordia!**

It sounded like she just fired a bazooka. The projectile crashed through the treetops with incredible force, shredding all branches in its way and made the trees shiver from the shockwave. It was destruction incarnate. Seconds later, the spear flew back into Lancer's hand, its tip still virginal.

 _A miss!_

Nina clenched her fists. Another cracking sound was audible, but this time a human figure stepped out of the woods, just below where Lancer's spear had struck.

"So you finally show yourself, coward", Lea hissed.

The man grinned cockily under his curled brown beard as he approached the two of them, his marvellously engraved curved bow at his side. He was wearing thick bronze armor in a way not unsimilar to Lancer's, something Nina found rather uncanny.

"Of course I do", the man replied easily. "Who would not want to come closer to witness the famed beauty of Queen Penthesilea?"

Lea spit on the ground in disgust.

"You'd do better remembering how to fight honorably instead of admiring my face hiding in the bushes. Killing you won't even be a pleasure."

Lancer seemed to have no interest getting to know his true name and since he seemed not inclined to give it away, Nina found herself just as impatient. With every second staring down this bastard, the white woman got further away. Even now it seemed already unlikely for them to catch up with her.

"Finish him, Lancer!"

"Right away", her reply was immediately drowned out by the explosion with which she jumped forwards, closing the distance between them with high pace.

The unknown archer disappeared in the same moment, but into the same direction, all the while showering Lancer with deadly projectiles. Then a sudden course correction. The bowman flew to the side, his bow still readied. In just one small moment, his eyes locked with Nina's, who had been watching the high-speed battle awestruck. But there was murderous intent there, accompanied by his still piercing grin as he let loose of his arrows. Nina's heart stopped for a moment as she saw several golden darts launched into her direction. A split second later Lancer crashed into the path between them, deflecting most of the arrows with her shield and striking down the last one from behind with an arching movement of her spear. The whole pursuit was over within three seconds.

 _I'm useless. She would have easily defeated him if not for me. Damnit!_

Nina turned around, trying to get back onto the road, away from the battlefield. But the moment she stepped forward, she found herself staring into a pair of beastly green eyes, glowing in the darkness as they approached her fast. For one mad second, she thought to have run into a dog, but this beast was far larger and far more murderous. She immediately raised her arms in protection and punched her imagined gears into place.

"Gandr!"

The head of the wolve creature twisted and burst apart, as it came crashing down besides her. A wave of shock and relieve washed over her as her legs gave way. It was not the only creature. A whole pack of them had somehow managed to sneak around her back. Nina raised her hand once more.

"Ga...", only a ragged breath escaped her mouth.

A voice inside her head whispered that another such shot could kill her. A voice she immediately fought down, but in the moment she regained her resolve to continue the fight, a golden whirl impacted amidst the wolves, slicing them down effortlessly.

"Lancer!", Nina allowed herself to breath again, the tension slowly subsiding as she watched the blood-soaked Amazon step out of the circle of dissolving beasts.

"Everything alright, Master?"

"I... I have not fainted yet, but...", she looked back towards the area where they had fought only seconds before. "That woman? That bowman?"

"Got away, I'm afraid. I have severe trouble sensing his presence. Assassin class, most likely. How fitting for such a coward."

Breathing heavily, Nina tried to make sense of what just happened.

"He knew you", she realized. "He knew you in your life!"

The Amazon grimaced.

"I cannot say the same, I'm afraid. But I have a feeling that we will find out soon enough."

And with that, Lancer helped her Master back onto her feet. Supporting her, as they made their way out of this forsaken forest.

 _She might have been able to escape this time, but we will be back!_

* * *

 _Author's Notes: Thanks for reading. I know this was a long one (again), so sorry for my repeated indulging in drawn out flashback chapters. But it sure was fun to write, especially when working with reconstructions of Troy and its battlefield.  
_

 _See you next time!_


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